Stateline NV

On 31 December 2012 Phish opened their final show of the year with a cover of Ricky Nelson’s 1972 hit “Garden Party.” A song Nelson had originally written after being booed off that same Madison Square Garden stage during the 1971 Rock ‘n Roll Revival Show, it was a fitting nod to the place Phish found themselves in both musically, artistically, and personally at the onset of their 30th year. Highlighted by the line, “You can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself,” the song would not only serve as a tongue-in-cheek jab at some of the more impatient members of Phish’s sprawling fan base, but would become something of a rallying cry for the band as they embarked upon their 30th year together as a collective unit.

Throughout 2013, the message of “Garden Party” felt ever-present, as the band sought to craft a six-month-long celebration of everything that had come to define Phish since 1983. In the summer, they emerged from hibernation with an overtly old school, foundational-setting run of shows from 07/03 – 07/21. Beaming with confidence, they went on to poke fun at their more obsessive fans in Chicago’s, ‘Poster Nutbag, the right way’“Harpua,” before crafting one of their seminal pieces of extended improve in the “Tahoe Tweezer” just ten days later. Friday night at Dick’s was once again devoted to gimmickry, this time as the band informed us that Most Shows Spell Something (Backwards). The Fall Tour that followed was a non-stop dance party with a signature throwback feel. And on Halloween the band debuted their new album – tentatively titled Wingsuit – in a move that has had the entire Phish community buzzing with thoughts and analysis ever since. Closing out the year with one more celebratory gag, Phish played an entirely coverless NYE Run, honoring the songs that had brought them so much acclaim throughout the years. Without question, 2013 was defined in large part by Phish’s desire to “please themselves” – without any regrets – in commemoration of everything they’d built (and rebuilt) since their college days.

What’s more though, was how “Garden Party” worked as a premonition for a band seeking to do more than simply garnish their 30th year with a nostalgic hue. Rather, 2013 saw Phish acutely pivot towards the next phase of their career. For, as much as 2013 was indeed about celebrating the essence of Phish – and their legacy – it was in many ways, more so about what’s next for a band that has systematically rebuilt itself from near-death, and now, at the onset of their 31st year, is in the midst of their most substantial peak period since the halcyon days of 1993-1998.

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Let’s pause for a moment, and take a step back to July 2010. At that point Phish had been back together for 17 months. Throughout they’d compiled four 10-15 show tours, alongside three, smaller, holiday-based/reunion runs. There’d been nights where they’d felt like Phish again. Nights where everything clicked: where they told jokes, where they pulled oft-forgotten songs out of nowhere, where their setlists flowed with precision, determination, and ease, and where they hooked up for extended pieces of forward-thinking, emotive, and ultimately revealing improv. But for all of the positivity that surrounded the 70 shows that had thus far made up Phish 3.0, there was a prevailing fear throughout much of their fan base that, perhaps, the band simply didn’t have it anymore. Too often they’d follow a breakthrough show with a run of unfocused and disconnected duds. Too many jams either followed a strict formula of assaulting rock -> rhythmic breakdown -> ambient fade, or would be cut off prematurely by Trey’s insistence on keeping the show moving. Too many shows featured a band that, simply put, appeared a shell of its former self. During the month-long break in Summer 2010, many openly wondered what would become of Phish 3.0?

Would they follow the same trajectory of their haunting and ultimately unsustainable 2.0 era; fading unfulfilled, full of regret, bemused with far more questions than answers?

Had Phish become (gasp) a nostalgia act?

Could they reestablish the unspoken communication that had led them to so many musical and artistic heights throughout their heyday?

Would they ever again evolve with the kind of abstract precision and focused experimentation that saw them transform from a psychedelically-infused speed-jazz quartet in 1993 to a spacious, patient, rhythmic juggernaut just five years later?

Could they do it again?

From the vantage point of January 2014 we know what happened. Barring a few setbacks along the way – parts of June 2011 and NYE 2011, most notably – when Phish reemerged for the second leg of their 2010 Summer Tour, they were a fundamentally different band. Since then they’ve been on a consistent upward trajectory, evolving with patient determination, overcoming many of the challenges set in front of them in 2009, and undoubtably blowing away even the headiest expectations any of us could have had for them when they announced their reunion back on 1 October 2008.

Beginning in earnest with the infusion of Trey’s Ocedoc – a move that systematically rounded-out his tone, resulting in him taking a more deliberate approach to building simple melodic lines, while also focusing more on rhythm – Phish has evolved with stunning speed over these past four years. Stylistically morphing – from the melodic jams of late-2010 to August 2011’s dive into the storage shed, to the cubist approach of 2012 – and further deepening their communication, they have consistently driven forward from the moment the Greek “Cities” dropped into its infectious whole-band groove-jam. A reflection of their own musical maturity and craftsmanship – and also the experience they’d gained from 25-years of friendship and collaboration – from August 2010 onwards, each tour has provided crucial reference points to Phish’s current peak. Be it the improvisational boon of August 2010; the self-referential gimmickry and humor of Fall 2010; June 2011’s experimentation & embrace of potential failure over conservatism; “The Storage Jam” and the darkness that engulfed many of their subsequent jams throughout August and September 2011; the 200-song challenge of June 2012; the fully-realized, multi-layered jams of August 2012; or the masterful run of creativity and exploration that was Dick’s and MSG 2012; there’s no denying the fact that following their initial – and necessary – 18-month rebuilding project, the Phish of late-2010-2013 in many ways mirrors the same band that rose from irrelevancy in the early-1990’s to become one of the largest, and most influential, creative forces in the country.

The only difference now: they are clearly wizened by their years. Trials & errors, fights, audits, drugs, failures, fuck-ups, youthful bliss, et al, behind them, the Phish of today is both healthy, happy, and inspired. Whereas in 2009 many wondered if such a “family-friendly” version Phish could muster up the kind of psychedelic expansionism and unadulterated experimentation that had drawn so many to them in the first place, it’s clear now that this version of Phish may not only match the creative ingenuity of their initial peak, but could in fact surpass their former selves in both musical discovery, and artistic sustainability.

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All of which brings us to 2013.

Beginning the year with a three-week foundational setting period, Phish toured the East Coast, fairing off torrential rains, all the while focusing on a tight rotation of songs which emphasized the original artistic statements of their career. Determined to perfect the whole-show-craftsmanship that had reemerged in Fall 2010, Phish used their first night at SPAC to send a message that 2013 would be more about patiently crafting complete shows rather than simply expanding upon big jams. Resulting in thematic concert experiences, the tour required noticeably more patience, reflection, and insight from their fans than the overtly jam-heavy August 2011, or bustout-driven June 2012 tours had. From 07/10’s “Maria” set, to 07/12’s “practicing safe music,” to Merriweather Post’s old-school affair, to 07/16’s “Heartbreaker” set to the existential masterpiece of 07/21’s second set, this first leg of the tour saw the band further advance their artistic intentions, while still infusing more than enough highlights to satisfy everyone in their fan base.

Following a five-day break, they reemerged at the Gorge intent on celebrating every aspect of their musical past, while systematically using each previous peak as a building block towards their next era. The rain behind them, comfortable enough to expand upond the strict rotation that had marked their entire East Coast run, rarities returned, jams popped, and the band played with an ease that could only result from the kind of foundational setting they’d initiated. From 07/26’s explosion of howlin’ energy, to 07/27’s album-like fluidity, to 07/30’s dance-party, to the methodical brilliance of the Tahoe “Tweezer,” to 08/02 and 08/04’s schizophrenic mind-fuck, by summer’s end Phish left no doubt in anyone’s mind that they’d not only coursed out their 30th year exactly as they’d intended to, but that they knew the “right way” forward for their creative evolution.

At Dick’s they keyed us in once more to their goals for the year by noting on 08/30 that “Most Shows Spell Something.” That they unveiled the gag backwards only lent itself more to their playful spirit and the multitude of angles with which one could approach understanding their music.

And then, as with 2010, Phish scheduled a two-week Fall Tour through some of the most historic – and smallest – venues within their home base of the Northeast. Needing no time to reacquire their bearings, it was clear from the jubilant jam that emerged from “Carini” on the tour’s opening night, that Phish had, once again, reached yet another level of unspoken communication and refined musicianship. Be it jams – “Carini,” “Ghost,” “Tweezer,” “Golden Age,” “Down With Disease,” “Twenty Years Later,” “Drowned,” “Light,” “Twist,” each built into fully-formed, innovative, and memorable excursions – or shows – 10/20, 10/23, 10/25, 10/26, 10/27, and 11/01 are some of the strongest complete shows the band has played since the 90’s – the band was completely locked-in throughout the Fall, and consistently able to tap into an vast wealth of creativity. At times one wished the band would simply have an off night to give fans re-listening, and avidly discussing, a chance to catch-up and breathe.

On Halloween the band once again repelled against expectations. Whereas traditionally they’d used the holiday to don a musical costume of one of their forbearers, here, in their 30th year, they instead used the moment to debut 12 new originals. Loosely dubbed Wingsuit, the second set of 10/31 represented yet another leap forward for this 3.0 incarnation of Phish. Like the Greek Run in 2010, the Storage Jam, and FUCK YOUR FACE before it, Wingsuit is a clear break between one era and another. Cultivated from various jams over the past two years, and containing some of the most advanced and deeply personal lyrics of the band’s career, the songs – and the symbolic nature behind their unveiling – provide the band with the necessary material and inspiration to enter the next phase of their remarkable career.

Closing out the year, once again, with four shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City the band honored their 30th Anniversary by focusing on the singular element that birthed their existence: their songs. Opting to only play originals, the four shows took on much of the same vibe that had marked the entire year. Nostalgically rich, yet full of forward-thinking jams in “Steam,” “Down With Disease -> Carini,” “Chalk Dust Torture,” and “Light,” the 2013 NYE Run both celebrated everything that has made Phish such a unique force in modern pop culture, and pointed the way towards their next thirty years.

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As with 2009 (Part I & Part II), 2010, 2011, & 2012 I’ve assembled a list of ten shows and jams that standout as the best of the year. Along with these selections, there are three honorable mentions to each. These are not simply shows/jams 11-13, but rather foundational jams and shows with which the band grew, yet didn’t crack my top ten. The lists are assembled chronologically, thus reserving the title “Best Ever” as a subjective accolade. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! Happy New Year! Can’t wait to see what 2014 brings to the world of Phish!

The Best Of Phish 2013

Honorable Jams

“Down With Disease -> 2001” – Toronto, ON – 07/22/2013

After kicking off the summer with three fairly contained versions of one of their most cherished Set II Openers, Phish finally broke through in Toronto with a jam that built off of their pivotal second set on 07/21, thus pointing the way westward. Featuring patiently built melodic and rhythmic riffs from Trey throughout, the jam ultimately settled on a remarkably pleasant platitude, which felt entirely composed. A direct prelude to jams like the 10/23 “Twist,” 10/26 “Drowned,” 10/27 “Tweezer,” and 11/01 “Twist,” this “DWD” is not only one of the key, foundational jams of 2013, but it is also the kind of jam one could listen to on repeat without ever growing tired.

In short, this is simply one of the most enjoyable, and pleasing jams of the entire year. A section of wholly deliberate, rising melodic playing followed the Trey/Page melodic peak, ultimately giving way to a full-on tease of “Sea Of Love” from The National. Further proof of how much musical insight Trey has gained from his time spent listening to – and playing with – those in the indie rock world. Building towards a truly patient segue into “2001” rounded off one of the most subtly diverse jams of the year, one that clearly helped to initiate the band’s massive peak over the next four months. While this jam has become significantly overshadowed in the past four months, its influence on the stylistic evolution of 2013 cannot go unnoticed.

“Harry Hood” – Hollywood, CA – 08/05/2013

There’s that moment in every single jam where everyone – band and audience alike – collectively realizes we’re suddenly in wide open, untapped, and unknown terrain. It may come via a reliable Set II opening vehicle, or in a totally unexpected song/slot in the show. Wherever and whenever it comes, the moment is ultimately defined by an immediate percolating of the senses, and a rush of euphoria, as the stakes of a show suddenly take upon unknown – in many ways, indefinable – potential. This moment is, for many, the entire reason why we see Phish. When that moment happens to come in a song steeped in as much historical lore as “Harry Hood” is, however, it raises a show to an entirely different level of excitement, sentiment, and lasting resonance.

While it’s clear here that Trey’s dedicating much of his energy to painting a backdrop of sound throughout the initial post-“Thank you, Mr. Hood…” section, we’re essentially still in typical “Hood-ville” until 9:37. From that point on, however, the jam enters completely unknown territory like it hadn’t since 07/31/03. A rock-based jam ensues, sounding in many ways like a leftover from the previous night’s “Runaway Jim,” before building into a full-on call-and-respond woo segment. Then, when it seems as though the band could momentarily snake back into “Hood,” they instead move into a more rhythmically-oriented realm, crafting a mosaic, where one member’s leads are effortlessly supplanted by another’s. Ambient-based jamming enters the fray, and suddenly the jam has become blissful. Abstract-cubism is the order, and, for a while, between 15ish and 17ish minutes, it feels as though we’re back in Dick’s 2012. Connecting on a dreamlike, plinko-esque jam that sounds like the denouement of a soon-to-be-unfinished jam, Trey plucks the “Hood” theme out of thin air, and the band rebuilds back to a subdued peak.

A creative palette of themes and varying musical passages, this jam harkened back to the band’s most prolific exploration within “Hood” from 07/25/03. A clear statement to the band’s M.O. moving forward in 2013, this “Harry Hood” opened the doors even further to what was possible in the coming Fall, here, coming on the last night of Summer Tour proper.

“Carini” – Hampton, VA – 10/18/2013

On the opening night of Fall Tour, in the midst of a risky & self-conscious show, in their first performance back in the mothership since their reunion weekend in March 2009, “Carini” emerged mid-way through the second set and ultimately set the course of the entire tour. Rooted in the kind of bluesy, melodic, and celebratory rhythmic jams that had defined the best parts of the summer, what separated this “Carini” from the jams that had preceded it, was how simple and how overtly groove-oriented it was.

A bulbous and infectious dive into a rock-based, dance foray, this was the kind of jamming that would ultimately define Phish’s two-week Fall Tour. A fusion between the sparse, rhythmic jams of their 1997 peak with the rootsy, rock-oriented jamming that emerged in 2009 and 2010, further shaped by the cubist approach of 2012, and finished with the celebratory rhythmic style of the summer, this “Carini” felt like an ode to the nostalgically-rich, yet forward-thinking engine that was Phish 2013. Fading into their 3.0 hymnal, “Backwards Down The Number Line” was an entirely appropriate move for a band that had just shouted from the mountaintop their intentions for the proceeding Fall Tour.

The Top Ten Jams Of 2013

“Split Open & Melt” – Saratoga Springs, NY – 07/06/2013

Wow. What a statement. What a glorified mess. A conscious experimental push into the unknown as anything heard from Phish 3.0. This jam covers so much terrain in its 18-minutes, it’s really quite exhausting.

Abstract, gorgeous, uneven, risqué, unpolished, raw, emotive, completely human; an absolute pure example of a band seeking out the elusive hook-up. It’s also perhaps the loosest, and unfocused Phish has allowed itself to be throughout the past five years.

For every jam that has either foreshadowed or reflected the various thematic terrains of 2013, there’s really no other jam produced this year that sounds anything like this “Split Open & Melt.” This might be the most important pre-Tahoe “Tweezer” jam played in the entire summer. One just has to hear the vocal inflection and laugh from Page at the end when he says, “We’ll be right back…” following their sloppy re-entry to “Melt” to understand how unexpectedly deep the band went, and how gloriously lost they became. If any jam in 2013 could symbolize a much-needed trust-fall for Phish, it’s this. Just, wow.

“Carini -> Architect” – Saratoga Springs, NY – 07/06/2013

The first of four versions for Señor Lumpy Head on this list, this one pops immediately with an incredibly focused, highly expansive, delicate, interwoven and intricate piece of music that has continually resided in the upper echelons of Phish’s 2013 output since the moment it concluded. Reminiscent of the 08/31/12 “Undermind” and “Chalk Dust,” this is one of those democratic/full-band conversations we’ve now come to expect in 2012-2013 Phish.

In many ways though, this jam is all about Trey, as he plays with a determined and deliberate precision that would go on to define many of Phish’s best moments in 2013. An example of foundational setting leading to deliberate playing from Trey, this jam sounds like a direct prelude to Fall Tour more than most of the jams played throughout the summer.

Oh, and this jam also segues flawlessly into a debut. So much so, that, for a moment, “Architect” felt like it was simply just another part of the “Carini” jam.

“Crosseyed & Painless> Harry Hood” – Holmdel, NJ – 07/10/2013

Two crucial things happen from 9:20 – 15:01 in this “Crosseyed,” which sets the foundation for literally every moment of fully-connected Phish in 2013.

1.) First, Mike creates an exorbitant amount of space through his melodic and atmospheric playing – something he’d been incorporating into Phish’s improv since mid-2011 – thus slowing down the jam’s typically galloping pace, and allowing more textural space for each member to communicate with each other.

2.) As a result of this, Trey recedes into the shadows and further incorporates his rhythmic playing that had been so evident during the Bangor “Golden Age,” building the jam to a unified peak based in large part around the familiar theme from the 02/16/2003 “Piper.”

Whether or not they were conscious of it, that they were jamming on a specific theme from one of their peak moments in the early stages of 2.0 was yet another of those unexplainable moments of pure musical magic that seem to find their way into the best Phish shows and jams. Fading some two minutes later into “Harry Hood,” which built upon the beauty of Bangor’s encore, was a clear nod to the brilliance of this “Crosseyed.”

“Tweezer” – Stateline, NV – 07/31/2013

A moment of profound unity between both band and audience, as each rediscovered once again what was truly possible in the medium of a Phish show.

Listening back, there are just so many raw moments that harken back to the halcyon days of 1993 – 1998 when the band and audience engaged in the kinds of extended, abstract, absurdist, and inside-joke experiments that were both only possible at a Phish show, and made this whole cultural experiment feel that much smaller, and that much more unified and connected, even as it simultaneously widened as the word of the circus spread throughout upper-middle-class, white America.

A Few Examples:

10:20 – 13:30 — when Trey and Mike are both clearly so desperate to extend what, at this point, is just a standard 3.0, “Tweezer-themed-Tweezer-jam”, that they push atmospheric melodies outwards, building towards Trey’s rhythmic in-and-out fades, which – once Page catches on – leads to the hard-rock segment that defines the 13:42 – 16:06 section of the entire jam.

22:29 – 26:18 — Trey latches onto a deliberate riff which builds towards a gorgeous hose segment that would have single-handedly made this one of the elite jams of the year had it ended right then and there. No woo’s. No 30-minute barrier broken. No matter. This section of Trey-led riffing is among his most impressive playing of the entire year – in fact it’s a direct predecessor of that gorgeous, Allmans-esque jam that concludes the 10/29 “Down With Disease” – and would have been the single reason why – had the jam ended immediately after, as so many have throughout 3.0 – the “Tahoe Tweezer” would have still, at that point, been the longest jam of 3.0.

26:18 – 26:23 — This is, for all intents and purposes, the moment when the “Tahoe Tweezer” becomes THE Tahoe Tweezer. It’s all thanks to Page McConnell. He’s been following Trey’s lead for the past four minutes, and sensing – correctly – that the current theme is about to wind down, inserts the celebratory melody which, once Trey latches on at 26:24, becomes THE Tahoe Tweezer.

27:29 — The first WOO!

27:53 – 28:19 — Trey plays a riff that’s so driven, so celebratory, so deliberate, yet so thoughtless at the same time, so rooted in his purest feelings and emotions – from so deep in his heart – you can literally feel the shit-eating-grin spilling out across his face through your headphones. You can hear him realize right then and there just how big a deal this jam is. It’s not just the fact that it’s a great “Tweezer” to open a set. It’s not just the fact that this is the new longest jam of 3.0. It’s not just the fact that the band has allowed all their fears of playing deep into the unknown wash away. It’s not just the fact that the band is proving both to themselves and all their fans that they’re so locked in once again that they can play with an unending, limitless abandon, and still produce totally focused, driven, and unquestionably listenable, compositionally-sound music. It’s the fact that all these things were happening at once AND they’d latched onto a melody so contagious, so infectious, so rooted in the essential nature that has made music a communal and spiritual force for the entirety of human existence, that they’d spurred a wholly original conversation with their fans in the process. It’s the fact that if the entire goal of Phish’s entire existence – spontaneous moments of shared energy and musical brilliance resulting from carefully crafted compositions allowed to run wild – were boiled down to one moment in time, this moment would be it. That they discovered this through the peak in a “Tweezer” jam is all the more fitting.

32:46 – 35:07 — The Victory Lap. As if they even needed to keep playing following the woo’s. This is all Rock-Star-Trey here. Based loosely off the jam from “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” the band built towards one more massive peak – complete with Woo’s, because, why the fuck not at this point (???) – before coyly snaking back into “Tweezer.”

35:48 – 35:50 — Woo’s within the “Tweezer-riff” comedown. Fuck. This section is a lot like that loose and sloppy “Psycho Killer” that emerged from “AC/DC Bag: on 12/07/1997 as the denouement commenced upon Fall 1997. It’s so unserious, so ridiculous, so clear that whatever the band’s intentions were as they stepped on the stage for that night’s second set, they weren’t prepared for this. As Wax Banks said, “bag>psycho killer to open, seriously? they’re just dorking around at that point…”

36:09 – 36:47 — The final note. The final Woo. The fade. The band holds out this last note, systematically dementing it and burying it in the ground. It’s as if they don’t want to let it go. And why would they? If they only knew at that moment what this would ultimately build to…

Is it the best jam they’ve ever played? No. But it is the most important piece of music the band has played since the 07/29/1997 “Gumbo” or the 11/17/1997 “Ghost.”

It’s that revolutionary moment where the band is clearly searching for some ambiguous sound, some indefinable goal, and unquestionably uncovers something totally new about themselves in the process. Say what you will about the after-effects of the ‘woo’s,’ what’s clear to everyone involved is that without the “Tahoe Tweezer, “none of the brilliance that emerged with such stunning ease and consistency throughout the Fall would have been possible.

“Chalk Dust Torture” – Commerce City, Co – 08/31/2013

Just listen to the segment from 10:02 – 12:36 and try – seriously try – to resist boogieing your ass off wherever you may be. Of all the moments of musical connectivity the band found themselves in throughout the entire 2013 Summer Tour, perhaps none felt as effortless, as mechanical, as choreographed, or as pre-planned as the immediate peak jam segment out of the Set II Opening “Chalk Dust Torture” from 08/31. A year to the date after their revolutionary FUCK YOUR FACE show, a night after informing their fans that MOST SHOWS SPELL SOMETHING, Phish connected on an aggressive, set opening jam, that systematically pointed the way towards the Fall.

Listen to the aforementioned segment again. Within it you can hear the first hints of what will become known as “Fuego.” What’s more is how deftly the band is able to hook up through rhythmically induced passages of deliberate playing, the very kind that would come to define all the highs of the looming Fall Tour.

Perhaps we couldn’t fully understand it at the time. Perhaps we weren’t aware that the band really just wanted to use Dick’s 2013 as a weekend-long celebration. But it’s clear now that this “Chalk Dust” was an essential moment that separated summer from fall in the same way the Toronto “Down With Disease” separated the East Coast Run from the West. A supremely confident statement from a band at the height of their powers once again, this “Chalk Dust” proved that all the foundational setting of early Summer were more than worth the patience required. And, just like in 2012, it was “Chalk Dust” that left perhaps the most lasting legacy on another memorable weekend at Dick’s.

“Tweezer -> Golden Age” – Hampton, VA – 10/20/2013

In 2003 and 2004, Phish regularly dove wildly into the deepest and darkest holes of the musical underworld, drumming up some of the most baroque and macabre jams of their entire career. A result of the personal crises faced by Trey and Page at the time, these jams are, in many ways, singular to perhaps the most harrowing era in the band’s history. Rarely has Phish allowed themselves to even glimpse these seedy and hopeless terrains throughout their overtly-joyful period of rebirth since 2009.

On the final night of their Fall Tour-opening Hampton Run, Phish – and especially Trey – granted themselves a dip back into their darkside, resulting in their most inspired, and passionate improvisational excursion of 2013.

Channeling the guitar-wizardry of Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan, Trey incorporates his effects with caustic shreds of his guitar, cultivating a demented soundscape. There’s a stark nakedness to his playing throughout this jam, a peeling back the layers to his soul, a revealing insight into the darkness that still resides within.

This is the Yin to the “Tahoe Tweezer’s” Yang.

Yet, perhaps what makes this jam so rewarding, and ultimately so influential, is the segment of music that emerges at 19:57. Distantly related to the ethos of “Wingsuit” – a song that would debut some eleven days later, this denouement to the preceding jam segment offered a window into exactly what was possible when the band gave a seemingly fading jam one more look. Reminiscent of comments Page made in the IT DVD regarding the type of music that’s only possible after 18…19…32-minutes of jamming, this final segment would help push the band further, to the moments found in the latter parts of the 10/26 “Drowned,” 10/29 “Down With Disease,” 11/01 “Twist,” and 12/29 “Down With Disease -> Carini.”

In “Golden Age” Phish finally capitalized on the most profound excursions they’d thus far embarked on with the song – 07/02/2011, 07/03/2012, 07/03/2013, 07/30/2013 – pushing it further than it’d ever been before. A fully-realized, groove-based conversation between all four members, this version – along with its accompanying 10/27 version – finally unlocked the code on a song that had evolved in fits and spurts for the band.

A forty-minute segment of music that ultimately transcended everything else the band was capable of accomplishing throughout their brilliant 30th year, one can only imagine how much deeper Phish will now be willing to push their music in 2014.

“Tweezer” – Hartford, CT – 10/27/2013

If the “Tahoe Tweezer” represented a moment of critical mass in Phish’s grand experiment, and the “Hampton Tweezer” was a marked dive back into the netherworld of their musical souls, then the “Hartford Tweezer” was a pronouncement of the celebratory rhythmic/melodic jamming the band had been busily perfecting all year on an extremely meta level.

We’ve long known that the ultimate key to Phish’s improvisational success is simplicity. A concept that’s often far easier said than done – especially when you factor in each member’s exceptional skill level, and the pressures associated with playing live, improvisational music – this version of “Tweezer” immediately gets to the point of itself, and then patiently rides itself out to its proper conclusion. Proof that less is more. Touching distinctly on the theme from “Weekapaug Groove,” this jam feels deeply rooted in the historical lexicon of Phish. It’s the kind of jam that fundamentally fit the conceptual goals of 2013.

Throughout 2013 Phish’s best moment came when they seemed to stop trying. Akin to 1997’s peak based around minimalist funk grooves, the diversity of their stylistic peaks in 2013 are only matched by the effortlessness it took the band to reach them. A moment when each member latched onto a singular idea and ran with it, the “Hartford Tweezer” is equally one of the most pleasurable, and important pieces of music played all year.

“Down With Disease -> Taste” – Reading, PA – 10/29/2013

If one were to try and summarize the reasons for Phish’s two-week-long peak tour during October 2013, one could hypothesize over the bulbous and rhythmic interplay of Mike and Fish. Perhaps one would reference the archaic and personally historic venues the band toured through within their home turf. One might look to the impending performance of Wingsuit as inspiration. In their fifth year back following a five-year break-up, the overall health and friendship within the band has certainly led to a lot of possibilities as to why now, in their 30th year of existence, Phish has reached one of the highest peaks they’ve ever been on artistically. Yet, to me, one aspect of Phish’s playing sticks out as the most profound reason why this past Fall Tour was one of the greatest Phish has ever had: Trey’s deliberate approach to playing his guitar.

Nowhere is this approach more fruitful, nor more rewarding, than in the stunning jam that flowed out of “Down With Disease” on 10/29.

What was initially a funk-laced stroll through familiar “DWD” jam-terrain changed at 13:10 when Page began infusing melodic themes into the mix. Immediately latching onto his ideas, and toying with them before copying them, Trey built this initial foundation into an Allman-laced jam that harkened back to his heavily-lauded Hose-era-playing. Akin to the 12/30/1995 “Hood,” the “Went Gin,” the “IT Ghost,” and the “Tahoe Tweezer,” the melodic and spiritually uplifting notes that emanated from Trey’s guitar with such ease, passion, and deliberateness felt like a step back into an earlier time.

Beyond it’s musical brilliance, the “Reading DWD” provided one final twist for the thousands of fans trying to decipher any and all clues from the band about their upcoming Halloween performance. Immediately following this show, and continuing until the Playbills were dispersed two night’s later, the entire community was convinced we were getting Eat A Peach on Halloween. A fusion of Phish gimmickry, with musical ingenuity, along with the emotive thrill that’s associated with their best improvisational moments, the “Reading DWD” is one of those rare jams that repeatedly delivers on the hype.

“Ghost> Carini” – Atlantic City, NJ – 10/31/2013

On 08/15/2004, following the whole-band collapse in “Glide,” and the emotional breakdown in “Wading In The Velvet Sea,” Trey told the crowd that the band needed to just “blow off some fucking steam…” They then proceeded to dive into a 50-minute firestorm of noise-ladened abstract improv within the limitless confines of “Split Open & Melt” and “Ghost.”

Just over nine years later, following a Halloween set where they debuted twelve completely new originals, Phish responded with this 35-minute segment of blissfully exuberant, and wholly-connected music within the limitless confines of “Ghost” and “Carini.” Without notifying their fans, the symbolic gesture was in many ways related to the necessary move to blow off some emotional steam at Coventry. The difference being the fact that in August 2004 they were a band grasping for their last breaths, whereas in October 2013, they were on the verge of rebirth once more.

The 10/31 “Ghost> Carini” is the sound of a massive weight being lifted off of Phish. For much of 2013 – no one knows exactly how long – the band carried around a secret waiting to be unveiled, live, in front of their fan base: Wingsuit. A burden that must have caused an incredible amount of artistic stress on the band, this jam segment was all the band needed to display how grateful they were for the open-mindedness of their fans to allow them such artistic freedom. Throughout the “Ghost” a sultry and sinister groove builds. The kind of deliberate and simple musical concept that had tracked their best improv of the year, this jam is the confident strut than can only follow a nailed risk. This is DiCaprio dropping the mic after one of his megalomaniacal speeches in “Wolf Of Wall Street.” This is Jordan shrugging after his 6th 3-pointer in the first half of Game 1 of the ’92 Finals. This is Trey’s prowling stomp around the stage during the surprise “Tweezer Reprise” encore on 04/03/1998.

It is, however, the “Carini” that gets all the glory in this segment. A 19-minute excursion that touches on literally all the moments of profound communication throughout the past two years, this jam is up there with the best improv the band has offered throughout the entirety of their career. Led by Trey’s celebratory rhythmic playing, this “Carini” reaches a full-band peak that would be further explored in the following night’s “Twist.” Stylistically reminiscent of the 08/31/2012 “Undermind” and “Chalk Dust,” the 09/01/2012 “Light,” 09/02/2012 “Sand,” 12/28/2012 “Tweezer,” 07/06/2013 “Carini,” and 07/31/2013 “Tweezer,” this is one of those Phish jams that moves effortlessly from one musical passage to another without giving the listener time to lament the conclusion of one before rewarding them with a fully-realized segment of music in the next.

Two songs that just scream All Hallow’s Eve in their musical origins and lyrics, “Ghost> Carini” was a fitting centerpiece for the band to blow-off some steam on a night when they confidently catapulted themselves into their next era.

“Down With Disease -> Carini” – New York City, NY – 12/29/2013

“Thank you, we wrote that…”

By the end of 2013 Phish was on such an artistic peak, and on such a creative roll, that it became second-nature for them to hook-up and explore passages of musical brilliance. Fully-formed ideas seemed to simply emit from their instruments, and questions over if they’d produce another transcendent jam disappeared. Because of this, there are numerous jams from their recent Fall Tour and NYE Run that were painstakingly left off this list: 10/23 “Twist,” 10/25 “Waves -> Carini,” 10/27 “Drowned> Light,” 10/27 “Golden Age,” 10/29 “Twenty Years Later -> Piper,” 11/01 “Twist,” 12/30 “Chalk Dust Torture,” most notably.

When they stepped to the stage on 12/29, following their most fluid first set of the NYE Run, they unveiled yet another masterpiece of improvisation through two of their most reliable vehicles for musical discovery: “Down With Disease” and “Carini.” Two songs that have been featured extensively on this list, for whatever reason, both of these songs consistently allow the band an ideal passage into the unknown. In “DWD” Phish explored the melodic underbelly of the song’s origins – highlighted by Mike & Trey’s interplay as much as the soundscape crafted by Page – before rebuilding itself into a full-on “DWD Reprise.” A moment of euphoric magic for both band and audience alike, the blissful conclusion that rose naturally from the depths of improv was the kind of unexplainable point of connection that has so often marked the best moments of Phish’s 30-year career. Many claim you could feel the walls of the Garden shaking as the band reached a peak of a musical theme that is the composed sound of euphoric joy within the confines of Phishdom.

A yin to the “AC Carini’s” yang, the 16-minute “MSG Carini” was a demonic beast of minimalist groove. Deliberate, haunting, demented, abstract, insane, unified… the “MSG Carini” built from the Yo La Tengo-esque jam in the “Hampton Tweezer” into a hulking beast all its own. A sure sign that the seedy, under-worldly jams, which defined Phish 2.0, are at least back in part here in 3.0, this “Carini” felt like the unification of two eras. The fact that Phish can so willingly dive deep into the darkness again – during an era of such renowned health and personal well-being, no less – is as clear a sign as any of the artistic peak Phish is on right now.

Just as “Down With Disease” and “Carini” provided both the musical peak of the 2012 NYE Run, while simultaneously pointing the way towards the band’s improvisational future, the two songs once again served this symbolic purpose here in 2013. Who knows exactly what direction(s) the band will take their improv in 2014? One thing however, is certain: if they can in anyway build upon, and expand within the musical accomplishments of their 30th year, we’re all in for an absolutely mind-blowing 31st year of Phish.

The Best Jams Of 2013 – Part II

A meaty segment of fully-flowing Phish, this 50-minute opening sequence is undoubtedly one of the most connected musical moments of the entire year. And like Jones Beach’s hour-long groove session, this chunk of improv is clearly more about Phish’s connection to itself. Save for the underworldly dip within Undermind, much of what’s played here is fluid and energetic. Exemplified in the bulbous jam that builds from Sneakin’ Sally, this is the sound of a Phish celebrating the trials won, foundations set, and conflicts overcome in the first three weeks of tour, rather than pushing forth overtly challenging music. Pure joy continuously emits from the stage here as the band celebrates their most accomplished run of the year, to that point. From here on out, there would be no more uncertainty. This is the division between the pre-Tahoe-Tweezer-Phish, and the latter.

07/31

Tweezer

A moment of profound unity between both band and audience as each rediscovered once again what was truly possible in the medium of a Phish show[1]. Is it the best jam they’ve ever played? No. But it is the most important piece of music the band has played since the 07/29/1997 Gumbo or the 11/17/1997 Ghost[2]. It’s that revolutionary moment where the band is clearly searching for some ambiguous sound, some indefinable goal, and unquestionably uncovers something totally new about themselves in the process. Say what you will about the after-effects of the ‘woo’s,’ what’s clear to everyone involved is that without the Tahoe Tweezer, none of the brilliance that emerged with such stunning ease and consistency throughout the Fall would have been possible.

08/03

Rock & Roll -> Steam

Celebratory melodic jamming as a singular jam. On the second night of a three-night run in the intimate halls of San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, after an opening show in which the band essentially took a – much-deserved – full-show victory lap following the Tahoe breakthrough, Phish unleashed a jam that displayed their evolved cubism, along with their innate communicative abilities, all under the umbrella of a reverent melodic passage that spoke volumes to the musical peak they found themselves on. Mike and Trey trade licks and leads throughout, and seemingly every trill Trey offers, Mike responds back with a perfectly placed meatball-riff that envelops and fits the immediate moment of the jam brilliantly. For all the hyperbole that’s been invoked to describe the recent Fall Tour, perhaps the most incredible thing about it is the fact that its best jams are unquestionably the simplest ones. A direct effect of the peak the band discovered via the Tahoe Tweezer, deliberateness, faith in simple, melodic music, and a trust in the communicative direction of each member, all helped to shape the band’s October peak. Each of these qualities is heard in their purest form throughout this Rock & Roll. If we only knew then what we know now…

08/04

Energy> Runaway Jim

As a rule: In 3.0, you never miss a Sunday show[3]. On the final Sunday of the Summer Tour, Phish crafted a complete show that is as much a self-referential statement as it is an evolutionary step forward. Capped off by a 30-minute segment of music that ushered in its second set, the Energy> Runaway Jim is Phish’s 2013 Summer Tour in its essential form. Fusing a 2013 debut – which emerged as The Song Of Summer – with one of their oldest classics, the band simultaneously reflected on a tour that had set the foundation for future musical successes – while also forcing the band to overcome numerous external struggles[4] – and looked ahead to the (at the time) unknown heights of Fall. Building outwards from the structure of Energy via a rising theme, the entire jam changed on a dime at 6:39 when Trey imposed his wha into the mix. What followed was a rhythmically induced wall of sound that flowed into a piece of seedy urbaneness defined by Page’s Lydian riff from 9:49 – 10:11. Trey would systematically – and brilliantly – mimic, and then distort this riff to the jam’s fading conclusion.

In Runaway Jim, Trey did his best Hendrix impression since 09/01/12’s Prince Caspian, as the band proved the limitless potential for Jim – whenever the band is keen on letting it off its leash, that is. Rooted in sinister, bluesy psychedelia, this jam felt like a peek back into Fall ’97, when Trey would regularly indulge in his rock star fantasies. Yet in the context of 2013 the jam takes on a much more interesting – and necessary – accord, considering just how far Trey has come as a guitarist since 2008, and how he commanded many of the best jams throughout the Fall Tour. Rather than imposing his will because of a lack of support from his bandmates – or, in effort to simply kill time – it’s clear Trey needed to prove to himself, to the band, and, to his fans, that he was capable of shredding in an improvisational setting again like in the days of old. In a tour in which so many of the band’s classics were given new life, it was quite fitting the tour would conclude with yet another pushing the band to such heights.

08/05

Harry Hood

There’s that moment in every single jam where everyone – band and audience alike – collectively realizes we’re suddenly in wide open, untapped, and unknown terrain. It may come via a reliable Set II opening vehicle[5], or in a totally unexpected song/slot in the show[6]. Wherever and whenever it comes, the moment is ultimately defined by an immediate percolating of the senses, and a rush of euphoria, as the stakes of a show suddenly take upon unknown – in many ways, indefinable – potential. This moment is, for many, the entire reason why we see Phish. When that moment happens to come in a song steeped in as much historical lore as Harry Hood is, however, it raises a show to an entirely different level of excitement, sentiment, and lasting resonance.

While it’s clear here that Trey’s dedicating much of his energy to painting a backdrop of sound throughout the initial post-“Thank you, Mr. Hood…” section, we’re essentially still in typical Hood-ville until 9:37. From that point on, however, the jam enters completely unknown territory like it hadn’t since 07/31/03. A rock-based jam ensues, sounding in many ways like a leftover from the previous night’s Runaway Jim, before building into a full-on call-and-respond woo segment. Then, when it seems as though the band could momentarily snake back into Hood, they instead move into a more rhythmically-oriented realm, crafting a mosaic, where one member’s leads are effortlessly supplanted by another’s. Ambient-based jamming enters the fray, and suddenly the jam has become blissful. Abstract-cubism is the order, and, for a while, between 15ish and 17ish minutes, it feels as though we’re back in Dick’s 2012. Connecting on a dreamlike, plinko-esque jam that sounds like the denouement of a soon-to-be-unfinished jam, Trey plucks the Hood theme out of thin air, and the band rebuilds back to a subdued peak.

A creative palette of themes and varying musical passages, this jam harkened back to the band’s most prolific exploration within Hood from 07/26/03. A clear statement to the band’s M.O. moving forward in 2013, this Harry Hood opened the doors even further to what was possible in the coming Fall, here, coming on the last night of Summer Tour proper.

08/31

Chalk Dust Torture

Just listen to the segment from 10:02 – 12:36 and try – seriously try – to resist boogieing your ass off wherever you may be. Of all the moments of musical connectivity the band found themselves in throughout the entire 2013 Summer Tour, perhaps none felt as effortless, as mechanical, as choreographed, or as pre-planned as the immediate peak jam segment out of the Set II Opening Chalk Dust Torture from 08/31. A year to the date after their revolutionary FUCK YOUR FACE show, a night after informing their fans that MOST SHOWS SPELL SOMETHING, Phish connected on an aggressive, set opening jam, that systematically pointed the way towards the Fall.

Listen to the aforementioned segment again. Within it you can hear the first hints of what will become Fuego. What’s more is how deftly the band is able to hook up through rhythmically induced passages of deliberate playing, the very kind that would come to define all the highs of the looming Fall Tour.

Perhaps we couldn’t fully understand it at the time. Perhaps we weren’t aware that the band really just wanted to use Dick’s 2013 as a weekend-long celebration. But it’s clear now that this Chalk Dust was an essential moment that separated summer from fall in the same way the Toronto Down With Disease separated the East Coast Run from the West. A supremely confident statement from a band at the height of their powers once again, this Chalk Dust proved that all the foundational setting of early Summer were more than worth the patience required. And, just like in 2012, it was Chalk Dust that left perhaps the most lasting legacy on another memorable weekend at Dick’s.

[1] Listening back, there are just so many raw moments that harken back to the halcyon days of 1993 – 1998 when the band and audience engaged in the kinds of extended, abstract, absurdist, and inside-joke experiments that were both only possible at a Phish show, and made this whole cultural experiment feel that much smaller, and that much more unified and connected, even as it simultaneously widened as the word of the circus spread throughout upper-middle-class, white America.

A Few Examples:

10:20 – 13:30 — when Trey and Mike are both clearly so desperate to extend what, at this point, is just a standard 3.0, Tweezer-themed-Tweezer-jam, that they push atmospheric melodies outwards, building towards Trey’s rhythmic in-and-out fades, which – once Page catches on – leads to the hard-rock segment that defines the 13:42 – 16:06 section of the entire jam.

22:29 – 26:18 — Trey latches onto a deliberate riff which builds towards a gorgeous hose segment that would have single-handedly made this one of the elite jams of the year had it ended right then and there. No woo’s. No 30-minute barrier broken. No matter. This section of Trey-led riffing is among his most impressive playing of the entire year – in fact it’s a direct predecessor of that gorgeous, Allmans-esque jam that concludes the 10/29 Down With Disease – and would have been the single reason why – had the jam ended immediately after, as so many have throughout 3.0 – the Tahoe Tweezer would have still, at that point, been the longest jam of 3.0.

26:18 – 26:23 — This is, for all intents and purposes, the moment when the Tahoe Tweezer becomes THE Tahoe Tweezer. It’s all thanks to Page McConnell. He’s been following Trey’s lead for the past four minutes, and sensing – correctly – that the current theme is about to wind down, inserts the celebratory melody which, once Trey latches on at 26:24, becomes THE Tahoe Tweezer.

27:29 — The first WOO!

27:53 – 28:19 — Trey plays a riff that’s so driven, so celebratory, so deliberate, yet so thoughtless at the same time, so rooted in his purest feelings and emotions – from so deep in his heart – you can literally feel the shit-eating-grin spilling out across his face through your headphones. You can hear him realize right then and there just how big a deal this jam is. It’s not just the fact that it’s a great Tweezer to open a set. It’s not just the fact that this is the new longest jam of 3.0. It’s not just the fact that the band has allowed all their fears of playing deep into the unknown wash away. It’s not just the fact that the band is proving both to themselves and all their fans that they’re so locked in once again that they can play with an unending, limitless abandon, and still produce totally focused, driven, and unquestionably listenable, compositionally-sound music. It’s the fact that all these things were happening at once AND they’d latched onto a melody so contagious, so infectious, so rooted in the essential nature that has made music a communal and spiritual force for the entirety of human existence, that they’d spurred a wholly original conversation with their fans in the process. It’s the fact that if the entire goal of Phish’s entire existence – spontaneous moments of shared energy and musical brilliance resulting from carefully crafted compositions allowed to run wild – were boiled down to one moment in time, this moment would be it. That they discovered this through the peak in a Tweezer jam is all the more fitting.

32:46 – 35:07 — The Victory Lap. As if they even needed to keep playing following the woo’s. This is all Rock Star Trey here. Based loosely off the jam from Dear Mr. Fantasy, the band built towards one more massive peak – complete with Woo’s, because, why the fuck not at this point (???) – before coyly snaking back into Tweezer.

35:48 – 35:50 — Woo’s within the Tweezer-riff comedown. Fuck. This section is a lot like that loose and sloppy Psycho Killer that emerged from AC/DC Bag on 12/07/1997 as the denouement commenced upon Fall 1997. It’s so unserious, so ridiculous, so clear that whatever the band’s intentions were as they stepped on the stage for that night’s second set, they weren’t prepared for this. As Wax Banks said, “bag>psycho killer to open, seriously? they’re just dorking around at that point…”

36:09 – 36:47 — The final note. The final Woo. The fade. The band holds out this last note, systematically dementing it and burying it in the ground. It’s as if they don’t want to let it go. And why would they? If they only knew at that moment what this would ultimately build to…

[2] Obviously a point of immense contention. Certainly a subject for another essay, and another time. However, if you allow yourself the perspective that Fall 1997 was the last period – until now – when the band was both – A. Fully Committed to the idea of Phish, so much so that they spent a majority of their time exploring within their music to push it forward along a specific set of goals, and B. Neither succumbing to the overwhelming pressures of fame and the bloated organization they’d created by turning to drugs which led to a 11-13 year period of uncertainty, collapse, rebirth, and rebuilding, nor immersed in the necessary process of rebuilding everything that was lost in said period – then the notion that the band hasn’t played a piece of music that’s equally inspired, influenced, reassured, and pushed them further than the Tahoe Tweezer clearly has since some time in 1997, is both plausible, and completely accurate. None of this is said to dismiss the music of 1998 – 2012, of course.

[3] 03/06/09, 06/07/09, 06/21/09, 11/01/09, 11/29/09, 06/27/10, 07/03/11, 09/04/11, 08/19/12, 09/02/12, 12/30/12, 07/14/13, 07/21/13, 08/04/13, 10/20/13, 10/27/13 are each both Sunday shows, and some of the best whole-shows the band has played since reuniting five years ago.

[4] It really can’t be emphasized enough how big an impact the rain that followed Phish throughout the Eastern half of the United States had on their playing, and presumably, their psyche. Out of the fourteen shows the band played from Bangor – Toronto, six were played up against torrential rainstorms, (07/07, 07/12, 07/14, 07/17, 07/19, 07/21) one had to be rescheduled completely, (Toronto) one had to be aborted some 13 minutes into the second set, (07/19) and another was nearly cancelled, only allowed to continue when the rains that poured relentlessly from the skies over Chicago, suddenly cleared (07/21). Throughout this stretch, you can hear the band’s increasing frustration in their inability to fully concentrate on their music in the face of such insolvent, yet unremarkable interferences. Be it Trey claiming the band was “practicing making safe music,” on 07/12, or Page and Trey’s clear frustration with being forced to evacuate the stage on 07/19 and 07/21, or the abrupt and constricted three-set show on 07/20, or Page’s endless gratitude towards their fans for their support on 07/22, one got the sense throughout those three weeks that many of the barriers between artist and fans were brought down as a result of extraneous issues.

[5] There’s that sensation that always accompanies a Set II opening Down With Disease, Tweezer, Crosseyed & Painless, or Rock & Roll (among others, but these in particular, especially in 3.0) where it feels like the band is giving us a knowing wink and a nod, as if to say, “here we go…”

[6] Think: 12/14/95 NICU, 07/10/99 Chalk Dust, 08/06/10 Cities, 07/01/12 Fee, or the 08/31/12 Undermind, for just a few examples.

Regardless what happens throughout the rest of 2013, Phish’s recently completed Summer Tour is certain to go down as their best overall tour since Summer 1998. Full of thematic, boundary pushing shows, odes to their historical roots, along with clear paths pointing towards their future, 2013 is the most complete Phish tour in over a decade, and a sure sign of the summit reached in Phish’s 3.0 experiment.

With so many highlights contained throughout the tour this is the first in recent memory that simply cannot be divided into best/worst, or worth your listen/not worth your listen categories. There’s nothing cut-and-dry about 3.0 Phish tours anymore.

EVERYTHING played this summer is worth your time and your attention.

As a result, James and I figured we’d compile something of a road map for fans in search of some guidance of where to begin their Summer 2013 (re)listen. As we’re both well aware of, after all, with so much good music just produced, one can become easily overwhelmed by the prospect of re-listening. While this is an “awards” compilation, yes, it’s also meant to be read as an overall guide to the most noteworthy moments of the tour.

Moreover, we wanted to use this platform as an opportunity to extend our thanks to the band and to the overall Phish community for what has to be regarded as the most positive Phish tour in ages. By all accounts, those of you at the shows had nothing but glowing reviews on a nightly basis. I know for myself, hunkered down in a closet apartment in Osan, South Korea, this tour could not have sounded any better.

I’m absolutely honored that James asked me to be a part of this project, and I can’t wait to work with him in the future!

Hope everyone enjoys the piece! Please feel free to share your thoughts, comments, criticisms, and rants in either the comment section or @sufferingjuke and @jameskam17.

*Note: For each section our favorite show/set/jam/song is in bold.

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Opener Of The Year

Llama: Holmdel, NJ – 07/10/2013

First Tube: Columbia, MD – 07/13/2013

Prince Caspian: Chicago, IL – 07/20/2013

Dinner and a Movie: Chicago, IL – 07/21/2013

Architect: George, WA – 07/27/2013

Honorable Mention: Free, San Francisco, CA – 08/02/2013

In 2012 Phish entered their summer tour with the stated goal of playing 200 unique songs. Impacting their setlists with unexpected diversity on a consistent level like no time previously in their history, the 200-song-challenge affected all aspects of their shows, most notably the opener slot. From 06/07’s Buried Alive, 06/15’s My Sweet One, 07/03’s Skin It Back, 09/01’s Antelope, and 12/31’s Garden Party, the opener became an entity all to its own throughout 2012. Here in 2013 however, the focus moved away from the number of songs the band would play (their rotation was perhaps their tightest since 1997) to, now the quality of play, and the overall craftsmanship of setlists. As a result, the openers were less a separate moment removed from the overall show, and rather an immediate insight into the night’s flow, and the band’s mood.

Each of the above songs we felt best introduced their shows – from the frenetic rage of Llama and First Tube, to the gimmicky charm of Caspian and Dinner & A Movie, to SF’s Free that summed up the entire communities sentiments following the Tahoe Tweezer, while at the same time setting an overall thematic tone for the BGCA run that fits perfectly on re-listen.

And yet, while each of the above songs certainly sent a jolt of energy and adrenaline into their respective shows, no song better captured the setting, mood, nor indescribable bigness of Phish, than Architect did on 07/27/2013. Ushering in the show under a hushed tone, the song – with lyrics like: “it turned out better/so much better/than we ever did expect,” and “there might be more to this than we all know” – allowed everyone a pause to remember just how special and unique this whole Phish thing is.

Regardless of jam lengths, regardless of song selections, at the end of the day, the fact that Phish has created this living, breathing, evolving, fully healthy, totally redeemed entity, which has a positive impact on literally anyone who touches it, is enough in and of itself, right? Raise a glass to the architect…

Top New Song

Yarmouth Road

Energy

Say Something

Architect

Frost

In the Phish offseason, the most commonly heard request from fans for 2013 was not Gamehendge, but new material. Everyone, including me have been craving for some new Phish jams. Trey said a new album was in the works and when news broke the community went crazy. We heard the band was working collectively on the album. I mention this because this year, we did get some new tunes, but none were written collectively from the band.

After a tour opener in Bangor with no new songs, the band changed gears the next show with a Phish debut in the first set and the second set. We got Yarmouth Road, a real funky reggae song from Mike and Energy, an instant classic Phish cover from The Apples in Stereo. Yarmouth brought some great vibes to the first set and settled in comfortably for the tour. Energy kicked off the second set in thrilling fashion and just improved each and every time, getting more and more exploratory, tighter and unique with each play. Say Something and Frost were each played once, the former another Mike song that I absolutely love from the Gorge and Frost, a Trey tune played in Alpharetta.

While each song was unique and special in its own way, Energy was the clear highlight of all the new songs. It kick started one of the best sets of the tour at SPAC and was just a consistent thrill to hear. Only played four times, Energy started with a ton of potential that SPAC night, shifted to a nice meaty exploratory groove in Alpharetta after Water in the Sky, opened up another classic set in Chicago with Ghost->Lizards, Harpua > Antelope and opened the final set at Bill Graham, a peak and symbol of the true development of Energy. Energy is here to stay and is a perfect Phish song with nice lyrics, good harmonies and rocking chords. There’s room for everything and anything with this song and anything is possible. It’s just the beginning for this tune, and the other classics from the summer.

Top First Set Jam

Tube: Saratoga, NY – 07/06/2013

Split Open and Melt: Saratoga, NY – 07/06/2013

Stash: Columbia, MD – 07/14/2013

It’s Ice: Columbia, MD – 07/14/2013

Reba: San Francisco, CA – 08/02/2013

Honorable Mention: Cities->David Bowie: Saratoga, NY 07/05/2013

The fact that there’s even a category for first set jams in this collection of thoughts says more about the state of Phish in 2013 than perhaps anything else. Proof that the band felt a comfort with their songs, and a willingness to expand upon them from the onset of the tour, these six jams display the peak period we currently find ourselves in here in Phish’s 30th year.

Centered around two first set’s in particular – 07/06 and 07/14 – throughout the summer, even when the band wasn’t expanding upon their first set selections with exploratory zeal, they were still attacking them with a newfound creativity and energy than we’d seen in over a decade. Just check out the 07/07 Maze, 07/12 Cars Trucks Buses, 07/14 Scent Of A Mule, 07/26 AC/DC Bag, Timber, Funky Bitch, and Tube, 07/27 Ocelot, and the 08/02 Vultures, Sand, and Roggae, for some noteworthy moments.

In the above jams – each of which displayed a willingness to expand with ease within the rather strict confines of the 2013 first set – the band alternated between funk clinics in Tube and It’s Ice, ambient soundscapes in SOAM, Stash and Cities -> Bowie, and the idealized conception of Reba on the first night of the San Francisco run. In the end, the ethereal – and grossly surprising – jam that emerged from Split Open & Melt to close out the first set of 07/06 reigns supreme here in 2013. A moment where the band simply stopped trying to push their oft-tormented classic, and instead, yielded to the larger forces at play, the result was nothing short of sublime.

A representative jam for the year, the 07/06 Split Open & Melt displays the unyielding opportunities available to the band as they continue to explore untapped musical territory in Set I.

Unlike any year in recent memory, 2013 was symbolic for many things, one the return of epic and slick segues on a nightly basis! In Saratoga all of set two segued flawlessly between songs, specifically 46 Days-> Steam and Light->The Mango Song and the segues never stopped. Think about Cities->David Bowie from that show in addition to so many more from the run. Merriweather had a fantastic segue from the rocking Light to the funk fest in Boogie On and continued down south with the now famous Heartbreaker set. One of my personal favorite segues all summer happened from Theme from the Bottom to Weekapaug in a classic set two of three sets on Saturday in Chicago. On Saturday night at the Gorge set two was dripping with seamless segues, specifically the gorgeous Down with Disease->Undermind that so many people rave about constantly. But there was one segue that was a personal favorite for it’s tenacity and ultimate rock and roll peak — the Jones Beach Tweezer->Cities->The Wedge.

One of the most brutal shows to endure for any fan, Jones Beach was met with heavy winds and insane rain. The second set started with 20 minute Rock & Roll->2001, another shining highlight of the tour before the band headed right into Tweezer. Around 11:15 into Tweezer Trey starts repeating these light chords, shifting the direction of the jam. Page picks up on this and plays right along with him. Trey changes to a three chord progression that is the stuff of holy gods on top of Page’s now classic melody. Fishman totally locks in on the most intense Wedge groove as Trey continues to rocks these classic chords that EVERYONE should have branded into their brains. Trey keeps it going as he moves the band right into Cities. The jam continues in Cities is the stuff of bass, bliss and bad ass plinko-jazz infused funk. Trey plays these descending chords before fast play of something that sounds like a mind left body jam while Fishman builds faster. Trey then starts playing the Wedge main riff as the band seamlessly segues right into the beat Fish started a song earlier.

This stuff is perfect Phish. This stuff is what we come night after night after night to see. Thank you Phish.

Resurrection Jam

David Bowie (Note: 07/05, 07/12, 07/20, 07/26)

Scent of a Mule (Note: 07/14, 07/19, 08/05)

Split Open and Melt (Note: 07/06, 07/26)

Harry Hood (Note: 07/03, 07/10, 07/13, 07/26, 08/05)

Tahoe Tweezer

Honorable Mention: Mike’s Song (Note: 07/03, 07/13)

One of the enduring themes of 2013 has been the veritable resurrection of many of Phish’s most time-honored classics. Songs like David Bowie, Harry Hood, Run Like An Antelope, Slave To The Traffic Light, and even Mike’s Song – songs which had grown stale, even predictable in recent years – were suddenly presented with a new-found energy. Think of the melodic and chromatic territory the 07/05 David Bowie and the 07/03 Run Like An Antelope reached in the earliest nights of tour. Listen to the commitment to exploration in the 07/06 Split Open & Melt. Feel the fervent fire being birthed in the 07/03 and 07/13 Mike’s Song. Check out how Scent Of A Mule re-emerged as a beacon of creativity in each of its performances.

Each of the above songs – which for so long, had been played seemingly just because they had to be, simply because they were the band’s classics – here in 2013 have been resurrected as show-stopping, and tour-enforcing highlights.

Perhaps this approach is heard best in two songs: the Tahoe Tweezer, and in each Harry Hood played throughout the tour. Played as the lone encore on Bangor’s opening night, Harry Hood was re-approached with creativity, delicate exploration, and refined passion, peaking in two separate performances on 07/13 – when it sounded plucked right out of the mid-90’s – and on the tour finale in Hollywood, when it engaged on a 22min voyage that still has the community shaken.

The former, a 37min free-form jam – the longest jam since the 08/03/2003 46 Days, and the 8th longest jam of the band’s career – represented a peak in the band’s new-found approach to jamming. Focusing on harmonic freedom, which has defined their best jamming of 3.0 – ultimately peaking at Dick’s last year, and then all throughout this summer – the band wove numerous musical passages, culminating in a full-on band & audience impromptu segment of emotional jamming, surrounding a series of start/stop’s and woo’s.

A clear sign of the peak experience the band has had throughout 2013 thus far, these resurrected performances display a band once again at the top of their game.

Top Encore

Bangor 07/03: Harry Hood

The Gorge 07/26: Harry Hood, Fire

Lake Tahoe 07/30: Weekapaug Groove, Character Zero

San Francisco 08/02: Walls of the Cave

San Francisco 08/02: Sanity, Bold as Love

Honorable Mention: Alpharetta 07/17: Quinn the Eskimo

This year the encore was a little different than in past years. While there wasn’t much of a variety, each encore provided a little something to each show. Bangor’s Harry Hood was a perfect encore for the first show of the tour. A classic Phish song, not to mention that it was played perfectly (and was a foreshadower for it’s dominant summer), Bangor’s Hood was the right way to end night 1 and move us from the jitters of a tour opener into the actual tour.

Lake Tahoe’s Weekapaug and Zero were both great for a few reasons. First, Weekapaug continuing the groove from end of the show to encore is BEYOND BAD ASS. Second, Zero was pretty much the symbol for a stellar show all summer. This encore continued high energy and led us into night two of Tahoe with a lot of momentum and energy. San Francisco’s encore on night one and night three were both great. Night one had Walls of the Cave, a nice 2.0 surprise after the Seven Below highlight in set two. A one song encore allowed for a nice meaty jam and some explosive energy. The Sanity and Bold as Love allowed for two tour debuts in one encore, with Sanity being one of the highlights of the whole run. Boom! Pow! Talk about an encore! An amazing Sanity after one of the finer sets of the entire tour then some Hendrix! Man do I love this band.

The best encore happened on night one at the Gorge. After a stunning Character Zero with the band howling at the moon, the boys came out for another round of Harry Hood, another fantastic version, and Hendrix! This encore was the most fitting especially after the masterpiece set two that the boys played right beforehand. Harry Hood, whether set two or encore, was a monster in 2013, something we’ll touch upon later on.

Surprise Gem

It’s Ice

Scent of a Mule

Steam

Split Open and Melt

Walls of the Cave

Honorable Mention: The Mango Song

Along with the resurrected jams that dotted the band’s 2013 Summer Tour are the surprise gems that kept everyone’s ears perked, and made essentially every single show a must hear. From the aforementioned Scent Of A Mule and Split Open & Melt, to the fully-realized Steam jam, the choicely placed – and expansively attacked – Mango Song, and the 2.0 survivalist Walls Of The Cave, each of the above songs helped to shape the summer through their consistent dedication to creativity.

And yet, for as engaging, and even as surprising as each of the above songs performances throughout summer were, nothing could compare to the shock that reverberated throughout the fanbase when Phish dropped into a thick funk-jam right in the middle of Merriweather Post’s It’s Ice. A defining moment in the second week of tour, It’s Ice was one of many songs that helped to shape the early tour peak that stretched from Holmdel, NJ to Columbia, MD.

A group of song’s that felt uncertain of their direction, if not wholly lost altogether, this summer each was featured in a way that far exceeded anything the band had tried to do with them for at least the past ten years.

Top First Set

Saratoga, NY: 07/07/2013

Columbia, MD: 07/14/2013

George, WA: 07/26/2013

George, WA: 07/27/2013

San Francisco, CA: 08/02/2013

Honorable Mention: Saratoga, NY: 07/06/2013

Last year in the quest for 200 songs, first sets were a chance for Phish to play old favorites, one-timers and classic bust outs. Think of Riverbend, Noblesville, and Jones Beach. But in 2013, first sets were different. With a much tighter rotation there was more room to focus on tighter sounding jams and sets crafted with impeccable flow. Sunday night at SPAC just felt like there was a greater force building this beautifully crafted set. Starting with AC/DC Bag, heading into a monster Back on the Train, the lightning Divided Sky then classics in Free, It’s Ice, Mound, Maze and Limb By Limb, ending with a rocking set closing Walls of the Cave. This set just felt right. It flowed perfectly and each song was fantastic. There is nothing better than good music and good flow. And the next Sunday the consistency continued. Never miss a Sunday show.

The second Sunday show of tour went down at the Merriweather Post Pavilion. Opening with an amazing First Tube, right into the funk of the Moma Dance before a fun trio of NICU, Roses are Free and Chalk Dust Torture, Merriweather had high moments from the start and never once had a downer. True highlights in a dark and dangerous Stash proceeded an exploratory Scent of a Mule before my personal favorite, a Phish Destroys America funk fest in It’s Ice! Talk about a first set. Then a nod to the ‘97 funk with Tube before a closing Antelope. Another amazing first set!

Both nights at the Gorge had stunners in the first set, with Friday starting off in classic fashion with AC/DC Bag, the tour debut of Timber and a fantastic Wolfman’s Brother before Funky Bitch, Happy Birthday, the “Russell Wilson” Wilson, Possum and Tube. Secret Smile made a huge return before another tour debut, the elusive McGrupp! Another tour debut Curtis Lowe came for some blues before another set closing Melt! The next night started off in another amazing fashion – Architect, Golgi, Curtain With. The set was upbeat and fun with the Phish debut of Say Something, one of my favorite songs of the summer, and an After Midnight set closer in remembrance of J.J. Cale.

Everyone knows what happened after The Gorge. Tahoe. The Tweezer. 40 minutes of glory. The question on everyone’s mind in line waiting to get in at Bill Graham was how could Phish “top” it? What’s next? There was only one thing Phish could do. They changed the conversation. They played the most fantastic first set of all tour. The Tahoe Tweezer will live forever, and this set proves it. Starting with Free, an ode to the “feeling we all forgot” that exists in the magic of 30+ min jams, before never having a single down moment. The tour debuts of Meat and Oh Kee Pa Ceremony came next before a perfect AC/DC Bag to really get the show on the road. Talk about a four song intro! Next came the tour debut of Vultures which truly resurrected the energy of Tahoe’s Tweezer with the first of MANY batches of woos!! throughout the run.

The tour debut of Roggae was next and it was absolutely magnificent. The fun continued with a funk fest in Sand and a nicely placed When the Circus Comes to Town, a great song symbolizing tour. Another tour debut with Babylon Baby came before Reba!!! A song that has huge jam potential came after a gorgeous Reba, Page’s Halfway to the Moon before a classic Phish set closer – Golgi.

This first set of the San Francisco run was constructed with magic. The set was perfect to move on from the greatness and holiness that is the Tahoe Tweezer. This set was truly so damn good, with perfect debuts, perfect flow and amazing play in each and every song. It’s no exaggeration, and that’s why this set gets the award for top first set of tour.

Derek Jeter Award

Back on the Train: Saratoga, NY – 07/07/2013

Timber: George, WA – 07/26/2013

Golgi Apparatus: George, WA – 07/27/2013

Meat: San Francisco, CA – 08/02/2013

Divided Sky: San Francisco, CA – 08/04/2013

Honorable Mention: Wolfman’s Brother: Holmdel, NJ – 07/10/2013

Ahhh, the second song of the show. One of those slots that’s often overlooked in its distinct ability to affect the overall flow, energy, and direction of the show, here in 2013, it constantly seemed as though the band fully understood the power and importance of the Jeter slot.

On 07/07, the band followed up a sharp AC/DC Bag with a dense and intricate take on Back On The Train. Three weeks later they again followed and AC/DC Bag opener at the start of their weekend at The Gorge, though this time with a torrid Timber. In Holmdel, following a cancelled show in Toronto the night before, Phish kicked off one of the best shows of the entire tour with a blistering Llama followed by a loose, funky, yet still raging Wolfman’s Brother. During the tour’s final weekend, the band treated their fans to two classics on 08/02 and 08/04, using the second song of each show – Meat & Divided Sky – to key fans into the overall energy the band was messing with by tour’s end.

And yet, it was on the second night of The Gorge, when, after opening the show with their most contemplative, emotive, and sublime opener of the summer, that the band worked to sculpt one of their best shows of the tour, by infusing their age-old classic Golgi Apparatus into the show’s second slot. A song that has always seemingly fit best as a set closer, the placement reminded many of the NICU>Golgi>Crossroads trifecta that opened the hallowed 12/29/1997 show. Perfectly placed, expertly played, that they followed it up with the lone Curtain With of the summer just showed what kind of magic the band was wielding here in the summer of 2013.

Best Poster

BGCA

Hollywood

Alpharetta

The Gorge

Lake Tahoe

Honorable Mention: Jones Beach

Posters were a hot commodity as always this summer, and the posters were absolutely spectacular at each run. It’s hard to say which one is the best, because in all honesty, each and every one of them is special and unique to the venue while looking incredibly bad ass. I narrowed down my 6 favorites: San Francisco, Alpharetta, The Gorge, Jones Beach, Lake Tahoe and Hollywood. Jones Beach is the poster with an astronaut in the middle, surrounded by eyes blossoming from the slime below. Alpharetta’s dual set is perfect for representing the south. A beautiful landscape of friends swimming in a lake, playing on a rope swing. The silhouette of the children and grass with the bright colors of the sky reflect hot summer days in the south.

Heading out west, Phish had beautiful poster after beautiful poster. The Gorge, like Alpharetta, is a duel set with a wolf and goat looking at the lochness monster, swimming in the sea, another perfect poster for the venue. The posters kept getting better and better, with Tahoe’s an image of Tahoe Tessie rising on a full moon from the Lake and San Francisco’s three posters represent the psychedelia that is San Francisco. Night one is a pelican, night two is a butterfly with guitars and a keyboard and the third is a fox with drums. The colors are magnificent, blue and red and each are uniquely special.

However, Hollywood’s poster is clearly the best. Not only is it huge (20×30), but it’s a split perspective of the same image, one from the sky, one from below the waters. On the left there is a boy and a girl sitting high above the water in a patch of flowers, watching sailboats below and fireworks in the distance. On the right side is the image from below the water, with sharks swimming towards a light, deep below the sailboats, next to scuba divers. It’s really a fantastic poster and I’m thankful to have got a copy. Point is, all the posters are beautiful! Wonderful job from all the artists! Thank you!

Most Unexpected Part Of Tour

The Rain

Harpua

The Tight Rotation of Songs

The end of mkdevo

3 Set Show at Chicago

Honorable Mention: Hollywood Harry Hood a.k.a. HollyHOOD

Summer 2013 was a unique tour for Phish for a plethora of reasons. There were a lot of unexpected surprises, some good, some bad, but all having an effect on the tour in one way or another. The biggest may be what happened to @mkdevo and all of his videos. For all of 3.0, if there was a song you wanted to check out and watch, everyone knew look no further than mkdevo. If you missed a show, no problem, you could watch it practically through his videos. The videos were arguably Phish’s greatest marketing tool as they were free and they exposed Phish to a generation of fans who never knew of the band before 2009. It’s definitely been a different tour with little to none visual footage as there has been in years past.

Another big surprise was the Harry Hood from Hollywood, otherwise known as HollyHood. The last show of a 4 night stand between San Fran->Los Angeles, Hollywood was characterized by no new songs and lots of great, but typical, Phish excellence. All of the sudden, out of nowhere in the second set though comes this beauty. This magnificent mother of god Harry Hood that is instantly an all-timer. The song that started it all off in Bangor and never let down throughout the tour peaked in full capacity that Monday night, and that was a huge unexpected gift.

It’s been said a bunch already, but 2012 and 2013 were very different. The chase for 200 songs changed the dynamic of the tour in 2012 and therefore 2013 not only had a much tighter rotation, but it truly felt like a tighter rotation. It made for interesting sets. There was plenty of variety among each jam and development and improvement with each play. The juxtaposition between the two summer tours was evident and unexpected.

But by far, the most unexpected part of the tour was the rain. Without the rain you don’t get the Chicago run – Friday’s cancellation, Saturday’s three set speciality, and Sunday’s Harpua. The rain was EASILY the biggest factor throughout the east coast, all the way through Chicago, with everyone jokingly calling it Phish Pours America and Phish Summer Pour 2013. Every night there seemed to be a storm or threats of storms, starting with SPAC having delays and thunderstorms. Jones Beach’s show was caught in the middle of the worst storm of the summer on Long Island, with the wind whipping people in the face and the rain pounding on all of us from above.

The rain didn’t stop though, it just continued, down to Merriweather and Atlanta, before finally “peaking” in Chicago. When the show on Friday was cut short, the band was truly devastated, and rewarded us with three sets on Saturday. But when Sunday came and the first set was cut during Antelope, you could really tell how frustrated and annoyed the band was, especially Trey and Page. The rain was just a constant deterrent, but both the band and the fans NEVER let it get in the way. I’ll always remember this tour for the rain as will many, as the rain truly gave life to each and every show in a different, unique way.

Show Of The Tour

Holmdel, NJ – 07/10/2013

Columbia, MD – 07/14/2013

Chicago, IL – 07/21/2013

George, WA – 07/26/2013

George, WA – 07/27/2013

San Francisco, CA – 08/02/2013

San Francisco, CA – 08/04/2013

Honorable Mention: Saratoga, NY – 07/07/2013

The thing about this 2013 Summer Tour is that there really wasn’t a single bad show played. Seriously, you could throw any of these shows on and find numerous moments of full-band-connectivity. Even on their safest nights – 07/03 and 07/05 – even on the cancelled mess of 07/19, even when they came out with a song-based/energy affair on the second night of BGCA, each of these shows are still worth your time and your ears. Each display a Phish at the top of their game, attacking their shows no matter the style.

And yet, for however strong as the tour is as a complete entity, their peak shows are simply based on an even higher level of musical connectivity, advanced experimentation, and evolutionary progression. From 07/10 and 07/14’s dedication to the band’s classics, representing an early peak for the tour, while displaying Phish’s desire to jam as a unified force, to 07/21’s show that – like the above jam segment – absolutely HAD to happen, to the string of shows at the Gorge on 07/26 and 07/27 that display the most consistent peak for the band in 2013, to the first and third night of SF that combined rarities and segues on 08/02, and a second set for the ages on 08/04, there’s just simply SO MUCH music we have to listen to from Phish moving forward. And, one cannot forget to mention the initial high-point of the tour – a show rightly praised when it happened, yet overshadowed now as the tour has unfolded – 07/07.

We’ve truly been blessed throughout the entirety of this 2013 Summer Tour. The thought of the band continuing to build upon this at Dick’s and in the Fall is simply mind-boggling.

Thankful is simply not enough.

Top Run

Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, New York: 3 Nights

Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland: 2 Nights

The Gorge, George, Washington: 2 Nights

Lake Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada: 2 Nights

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California: 3 Nights

Top run? How can one even decide…Between the magnificence and glory at Phish’s real life Gamehendge, Saratoga Springs, through the tri state area in New Jersey and Jones Beach, and the weekend run at Merriweather, almost every run was unique and special, loaded with stunning moments and overflowing with highlights.

Lake Tahoe had great shows and the most special moment, Tweezer, and Bill Graham was the RIGHT way to end the tour, in the place where the birth of the counter culture happened. But one run stands above the rest — The Gorge. Like Phish’s last trip to the legendary venue, this weekend stand boasted complete shows filled with sick segues, exploratory jams and fantastic first and second sets. Night one at the Gorge had a AC/DC Bag, Timber, Wolfman’s Opener with a closing trio of McGrupp, Curtis Lowe and Melt. The first set was stunning as was the second set, which had an 18 minute Crosseyed and Painless, followed by Twist, Steam, Waves and a jam that has WAY TOO MUCH POTENTIAL, Twenty Years Later. Mango, Bug and Bowie!!! rounded the end, before a symbolic Rocky Top, signifying the awesome set, and then the moon howling Character Zero.

The next night opened with a gorgeous Architect, the first Golgi of tour and then the first Curtain With of tour! After that came more great songs with Moma, Maze and the new debut, Say Something, a song I love. After Midnight ended the set with a tribute for J.J. Cale and kept the energy at an all-time high. The second set was even better! The famous Down with Disease->Undermind to start things off before another amazing highlight, Light->Sneaking Sally. A spacey and funky 2001 was nicely placed before a perfect ending trio – Walls of the Cave, Fluffhead and Run Like an Antelope. Talk about a two night stand.

There are a few rules of Phish. Never miss a Sunday show. If you have the ability to go to a show, you go. Never miss Dick’s, and of course, Never miss The Gorge.

For much of 2009 – 2012, no matter what musical leaps forward were made, Phish continually struggled with conceiving fully-flowing sets. While yes, there are exceptions – 08/07/2009 II, 06/27/2010 II, 10/16/2010 II, 05/28/2011 II, 07/03/2011 I, 08/15/2011 II, 08/19/2012 II, and 12/30/2012 II immediately come to mind – the start-to-finish thematic flow of a set – particularly a Set II – was one of the missing links that marked any conversation about where exactly Phish was in their climb back up their veritable mountain.

As with much of their music, all this changed in 2013.

On the second show of tour to be exact.

Crafting a fluid, flowing, and thematically unyielding set on the first night of their three-night SPAC run, the band ushered in a tour full of relentless sets that stack up with some of the most complete sets of their entire career. These sets are SO good that the thought of ranking them/choosing a singular one that’s better than the others seems preposterous. Almost like an insult.

07/05 showed us immediately what was possible here in 2013. 07/10 displayed the lengths the band was prepared to go to craft improvisational brilliance, while also letting their hair down and proving that party/rock sets don’t necessarily mean a loss in flow. 07/12 felt plucked right out of 1998. 07/21 HAD to happen right then and there; phearless’d. 07/26 both built upon 07/10’s theme, but used down-tempo rarities, along with a deranged moon-chant in the often-predictable Zero to allow the band an entrance into an alternate dimension. 07/27 is definition of ‘perfection’ in my mind: jams, flow, energy, rock, classics. 08/04 capped off a tour full of highlights with expansive jams, a nod to the bands ever-present gimmickry, and an ode to the theme of Phish 2013: ENERGY.

While we’ve selected 07/27 as the singular set that best defines the peak we’ve all just experienced here in Phish 2013, the reality is any number of those sets could fill that slot. There’s a reason SO many were SO floored after 07/05 after all…

There’s simply no other option in this category than the 07/31/2013 Tweezer from Tahoe. A 37-minute masterpiece that saw Phish craft an unending jam, displaying both a willingness to expand upon the subtlest of musical cues, and a desire to push their music out as far as possible, that the song resulted in one of the most stunning peaks of the band’s career is almost icing on the cake. And yet, the peak itself resulted in an impromptu band/audience moment of connection only possible in the purest forms of live music, representing a unified sense of elation between band and audience alike. Just listen to the way Trey absolutely tears into his riff following the first – and most spontaneous – set of woo’s from the crowd. There simply hasn’t been a jam in all of 3.0 that can compare with the exploratory zeal, communicative transcendence, nor unified band/audience moment quite like the Tahoe Tweezer.

As for the rest on this list? Each would unquestionably be a top jam in any other year in 3.0.

07/06’s Carini that changed on a dime numerous times, as the band tore through gorgeous melodic passages before landing in the debut of Architect.

The first Crosseyed of the year which saw Trey reach an early peak through his experimentations with this rhythmic and melodic jamming.

The Jones Beach Rock & Roll -> 2001> Tweezer -> Cities -> The Wedge segment that felt plucked right out of 1998, and more than made up for the torrential weather in Set I.

At Merriweather Post the band dropped a sharp and rhythmic Light, which tore through various segments of start/stop jamming, fused with heavy and distorted rock, before segueing perfectly into Boogie On Reggae Woman.

Reaching a mid-tour peak with the Energy -> Ghost -> The Lizards segment in Chicago, a jam that absolutely HAD to happen, it touched on literally every jamming style the band has ever experimented with throughout their entire career in one 26min jam before moving into one of their most time honored classics.

A night later Trey led the band down a beautifully sublime path in Down With Disease, displaying the wide-open possibilities for the band as they moved westward.

On the second night of The Gorge, the band spent the first 50 minutes of their second set locked in a constantly evolving jam segment that passed through sections of funk, ambient, and bliss before peaking with a torrid Sneakin’ Sally.

Two shows after the Tahoe Tweezer, the band took Rock & Roll again on another spin, this time focusing more on the groove rather than its melody, moving it seamlessly into perhaps the best Steam of the year, in a year already full of top versions.

On one of the best shows of the summer – 08/04 – Phish opened their second set with a 27 minute segment based around their newest jam vehicle, and one of their oldest.

Finally, they took Harry Hood out far beyond the reaches of your typical Hood, crafting an often seedy, if not painstakingly gorgeous version that rivals any of the 2003 experimentations on it, and proved just how high the band was by tour’s end.

Each of these jams displayed a band simply locked in. No two ways about it. Phish was on throughout all of their summer tour. Evolutionary steps forward, momentous goals achieved, surprises galore; further proof of where things currently stand in the world of Phish.

Song MVP

Harry Hood

Energy

David Bowie

Crosseyed and Painless

Tweezer

Honorable Mention: Rock & Roll

Look up any show from the past tour where any of the above songs were played, and you’re guaranteed to hear an innovative and energized performance that served as both a show and tour highlight.

Each year of 3.0 has provided us with transcendent takes on Rock & Roll: 08/08/2009, 10/22/2010, 08/05/2011, 08/15/2012, and now, 07/12/2013 and 08/03/2012. Each wholly unique versions that displayed both the open-ended quality to the song, and the bombastic grooves that are just bursting at its seams, the song proved its lasting value in 2013 once again as one of the band’s trustiest jam vehicles.

David Bowie returned from years of seeming irrelevance to reclaim its place among the most enthralling live compositions in Phish’s catalogue. Punctuated by engaging, melodic versions on 07/05, 07/12, 07/20, and 07/26, the song proved that for however predictable and tepid it had been throughout the first three years of 3.0, there was no way the band could contain this gem forever.

Crosseyed & Painless, played only twice, was significantly stretched out on each occasion, further displaying the boundaries pushed in last summer’s transcendent 08/19 version. Offering up one of the jams of summer at PNC, it touched upon the 02/16/2003 Piper theme on its way to fully displaying the rhythmic melodic playing from Trey that was pushing the band to new heights. While it didn’t totally hook-up in the same way sixteen days later at the The Gorge, that version did represent a significant step forward in terms of Trey’s willingness and desire to push their jams deep into the unknown, something which would lead to a landmark jam some five nights later…

The lone cover debut of summer, Energy fit Phish’s rotation with stunning ease, expanding over four transcendent versions to become the new go-to jam for the band. With lyrics that speak directly to Phish’s overall message, a melody that just screams White Album-era Beatles, and an open-ended quality that caters directly to expansion, and it’s no wonder the song has stuck. Just listen to how much the song grew from its 07/05 debut, to its 07/17 performance that allowed it its first opportunity to wander, to its two peak performances thus far on 07/21 and 08/04. Anyone who doesn’t think this is opening one of the second sets at Dick’s is crazy.

Even if the four Tweezers that preceded the 07/31 version had been complete duds, the song was still bound to make this list for the sheer impact its 37 minute incarnation had on the entirety of the music made this summer.

Yet, aside from the 07/06 version, each the 07/12, 07/16, and 07/22 versions are unique, thematic, and are featured in choice segues midway through their respective sets. Still, nothing compares to the masterful jam that kicked off the final set in Tahoe. A musical peak for Phish in any era, it cemented 2013 as yet another Tweezer-strong year, and kept up the trend within 3.0, of a sublime take on their much-loved jam vehicle, joining the likes of 12/29/2009, 12/30/2010, 09/03/2011, and 12/28/2012 before it.

And yet, for everything that’s been played in 2013 – much of which that has simply blown away a large percentage of the music the band has made throughout their already illustrious career – it all comes back to one Harry Hood. The lone encore on the tour opener in Bangor, literally every single version played – 07/10, 07/13, 07/20, 07/26, 08/02, and the monumental 08/05 – is a veritable tour highlight. In much the same way that David Bowie completely revitalized itself here in 2013, so did Mr. Hood, and then some. Peaking in the first half of the tour with old-school takes on 07/03 and 07/13 in particular, out west the song opened itself up to a certain degree on 07/26, before completely rewriting the rulebook on Hood some three songs before the tour’s conclusion. One of the jams of summer, the Hollywood Harry Hood displayed the untapped potential of the song as a jam vehicle, exposing yet another layer in Phish’s continuously unveiling musical amalgamation.

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Once again, many thanks to James for asking me to be a part of this piece! So glad to be able to share our thoughts on Phish in such a way! We can’t wait to see what Phish has planned for us at Dick’s!

After a six month break, Phish returned to the stage over Memorial Day Weekend, in Bethel, NY for their 2011 Summer Tour. At the onset of the third year of Phish 3.0 fans had nothing but optimism about the direction of the band, thanks to incredibly inspired 2010 performances during August, Fall Tour, and a blistering send-off show on New Year’s Day. After overcoming a rocky June tour the previous year, the band reemerged on the west coast in August hell bent on pushing their sound past the tepid, quasi-experimentations of the previous 17 months. Armed with a new guitar for Trey and a stretch of shows the brought the band to some of the most unique venues of the era – The Greek Theater, Telluride Town Park – and some of the most familiar – Deer Creek, Alpine Valley – the Phish we all had come to know and love was reborn in front of the entire fanbase. The good vibes spilled over to the band’s three-week October run where they passed over the expected 20,000+ NBA arenas in favor of smaller, more intimate college gymnasiums and the versatile and historic Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall. Slimming down their crowds, the band absolutely destroyed their fall leg – particularly the east coast shows – playing with a fire and adventurism that reminded many of the goofy and zany college pranksters they’d fallen in love with in the late-80’s and early-90’s. Finishing off 2010 with a refined and balanced New Years Run in Worcester, MA and New York City, Phish capped off their best year since 2003 with memorable jams and their first show ever on New Year’s Day that was discussed ad nauseam on the band’s independent message boards. Thus when the band announced a 33-date summer tour, which included a three-day mid-summer festival in Watkins Glen, NY, fans looked to 2011 as the year when the band capitalized on all their growth over the past two, and returned to form as the “best god damn band on Earth,” for reals now.

Kicking off the summer with “Tweezer” – only the most reliable jam vehicle in the band’s history – was a pretty good sign that the creative juices were flowing from the get-go in the world of Phish 2011. When the inspired opener led to a thrilling weekend of shows, Phish fans either at the shows, or listening intently from home, picked their jaws up off the floor and wondered aloud just what in fact we were in for in 2011. Continuing with the exploratory, and unpredictable theme the following weekend in Detroit and Cuyahoga Falls – both shows put on high display the two sides of Phish at their best – it appeared that Phish had completely gotten over their growing pains of 2009 and early 2010, and could literally do no wrong.

However, as the band moved south along the Atlantic coast, the wide-eyed adventurism that had defined the first week and a half of tour faded and was replaced by the nervous, sporadic and inconsistent band that fans had seen far too many times over the past two years. Shows in Camden and Alpharetta, most notably, featured a band unwilling to take risks, craft fully flowing shows, or build upon their past successes. While there were certainly still high points – 06/11/2011, 06/17/2011, 06/19/2011 II – overall, the first leg of the 2011 summer tour, one which had started with such a bang, ended with little more than a whisper forcing many to once again wonder aloud about the direction of the band at the end of another disappointing June.

Returning to the stage less than two weeks later for a 4th of July Festival in Western New York the band appeared for the first five sets of the weekend to have all but abandoned concept of exploration – save for an absolutely sublime “Simple” – and instead, opted for a high octane, energy festival. All of this changed with the band’s late-night secret set – their first since IT’s Tower Jam – when Phish locked themselves in a Storage Unit and spent a hour playing wholly original and organic music, forever altering the paradigm of their 3.0 incarnation. The final show of the festival, occurring a mere 12 hours after “The Storage Jam” is without question the best show the band has played since returning to the stage in March 2009. Comparable to the affect Trey’s new guitar had on their sound a year earlier, “The Storage Jam” breathed new creative life into Phish, and gave their fans the assurance that the stumbling blocks of the last two years was not all for naught.

Spilling over to the west coast run of August, the band once again blew away their June run with a superior August run for the third straight year. Opening with back-to-back barn burners at the spectacular Gorge Amphitheater, Phish crushed their stand at Lake Tahoe, put on an incredibly balanced performance at San Francisco’s Outside Land’s Festival, and just destroyed the intimate UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Finishing off the summer with a three night stand at Denver’s Dick’s Sporting Goods Park over Labor Day, Phish concluded their marathon tour with three killer shows full of gimmicks, rarities, jams, and stellar playing all around.

Two weeks later Phish surprised their fans by announcing a one-night benefit show in Essex Junction, VT. The show was significant for two reasons. First and foremost, the band raised over a million dollars to help flood victims in Vermont, and secondly, it was the band’s first performance in Vermont since their emotional and sloppy exit seven years prior. While the show was light on substance – save for an all-time “Carini” – it was more icing on the cake than anything else for a fan base that had spent the entire summer reveling in the best Phish we’d all heard since 2.0.

With no Fall tour due to the band member’s obligations to their side projects and families, Phish returned to the stage after a four month break for a four-night run at New York’s Madison Square Garden to close out the year. A run that has historically given Phish and their fans an opportunity to both look back upon the year that was, while also offering a sneak peak to their direction in the following year, the vast distance between their final summer show and the NYE run proved to be too much for the band to overcome, as the run proved to be more underwhelming than anything. While the opening show had plenty of the magic fans have come to expect with holiday shows, the band’s energy, their willingness to explore, and, seemingly, their recognition that this was in fact the 2011 NYE Run, diminished with each passing show, leaving many with a bland taste in their mouth. What has usually been used as a guide for what to look forward to the following year, has instead left fans questioning the state of Phish on a level they haven’t since April 2004. With rumors circulating that 2012 will be a “light” touring year for the band, many are wondering if we’ve seen the best of Phish 3.0. As has been proven throughout their entire career, Phish must play regularly to be the band they can be. As we saw in stunning clarity this year, the music created at UIC and Dick’s was only possible after the band spent the entire summer playing together, getting more and more comfortable with each other. If it’s true that we’ll only see a handful of shows next year, and if it’s true that the gap between a significant set of shows will be around 9 or 10 months, then not only will fans yearning for more Phish suffer, but Phish’s music might as well.

Lo, these may well end up being the simple worries of an overly-anxious fan looking for more of the Phish we got this year. With that, let’s get to the countdown of the best shows and jams of 2011. As with last year, I have assembled a list of ten shows and jams that standout as the best of the year. Along with these selections, there are three honorable mentions to each. They are not simply shows/jams 11-13, but rather foundational jams and shows with which the band grew, yet didn’t crack my top ten. The lists are assembled chronologically just like last year, thus reserving the title of “Best Ever” as a subjective accolade. As always download links follow both the entire Jam section, and each individual show’s highlights.

Hope everyone enjoys the list, and hope we get some more awesome Phish in 2012. Happy New Year!

The Best Of Phish 2011

Honorable Jams

“Simple” – Watkins Glen, NY – 07/01/2011

The lone moment of the first two shows of Super Ball IX to really leap out and grab listeners, “Simple” is an ambient masterpiece from the moment it leaves the structure of the song. Building off strong outings for the Gordo-penned tune over the past year – 08/06/2010, 01/01/2011 – the band sits back and just rides the established theme out as far as they can, and then some. Crafting an emotive soundscape similar to the IT “Waves,” the melody simply exists, hanging in thin air as if a stiff breeze will destroy it. In much the same way that Brian Eno crafted the themes on his Ambient series, Phish emphasizes the space within and between notes, rather than trying to wow the crowd with fire. Peaking with a sad, yet and warm riff from Trey that begins around 12 minutes in, the jam is perfect example of what is possible when Phish forgets about all the outside distractions at their shows – curfew, setlist, bustouts, crowd energy – and simply lets the music guide them. Like a piece of music plucked out of summer 1998, the Super Ball IX “Simple” is proof that when Phish wants to conjure up the magic of their past, they’re fully capable of doing so.

“Down With Disease” – Chicago, IL – 08/16/2011

The first of two appearances for “DWD” on this list, their version to open the second set of their second night at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago is still one of the more underrated jams of all of 2011. Probably due in large part to both the epic show played the night before, and the shadow cast by the Pine Knob “DWD” from June, the “UICDWD” simply hasn’t gotten the full respect it deserves. A psychedelic masterpiece in an era where those are hard to come by, Phish leaps from the song’s theme without reprising the jam and dives straight into the unknown, devoting a solid 14 minutes to exploration. A more direct and forceful jam than June’s version, the “UICDWD” is a throwback to the kind of late-60’s/early-70’s era psychedelic jams that would emerge from the song during 1997, rather than the funk or ambient versions that graced it during the latter part of the 90’s, 2.0, and now the majority of 3.0. Unique in it’s direction, the jam is also reflective of the heavy exploration the band engaged in during the previous night’s first set. Moving through subtle funk rhythms, all with a keen eye kept on the disjointed sounds emerging from Page’s moog, Trey works as more of a finisher than leader, offering small ideas within Page and Mike’s theme. All of this peaks around 15 minutes when Trey latches onto a rough, yet danceable melody, and plays around with the melody while it becomes increasingly more and more distorted. Fading into an ambient jam that one would think will simply signal another song, the band instead extends this as well, giving Page and Mike ample time to fill the room with one more dose of psychedelia before choicely moving into “Twist.” A thrilling homage to the Phish of the past, the “UICDWD” is akin to the SBIX “Simple” in it’s ability to show just how much fire Phish still has left.

“Carini -> Tweezer” – New York City, NY – 12/28/2011

In 2010 the joke-metal song “Carini” was reborn. Previously used as simply a shot of adrenaline to either open a show or to throw a crowd off – save for the incredible 12/28/1998 version – on the fall tour of 2010 the band began using the jam as a way to call to the heavens. On three separate occasions – 10/12/2010, 10/22/2010, 10/29/2010 – Trey wove the dark jam into a melodic and uplifting jam. Resulting in stunning beautiful jams in each instance, “Carini” was a part of the Fall Tour transformation that saw the band explore within their songs in ways they simply hadn’t since the mid-1990’s. All of this however, seemed to come to a halt with the onset of 2011 when “Carini” resumed it’s status as a set opening shot of metal. Disappointing fans across the board, the band seemed to turn a corner with the song with it’s performance at Essex Junction on 09/14/2011. The ambient laced jam that emerged in Vermont spilled over to the band’s performance of “Carini” at MSG in December. Sliding easily from the high octane metal jam into a blissful state of sublimity, Trey coated the jam with a bubbly riff that seemed like it was plucked right out of the “Ramble On” from 08/12/1998. Shifting this theme back into the minor key, the band engaged in a full-band segue into “Tweezer” akin to the “Down With Disease” segue into the song during the Dick’s run. Perfectly moving out of “Carini” and into “Tweezer” there is no sign whatsoever of the awkward transitions that have plagued the band throughout much of 3.0. Riding high on their surprise move, the band used the entirety of “Tweezer” to dance around sharp, funk-laced beats, just toying with the crowd they held in the palms of their hands. Moving out of the overt funk theme into a more rock-based, Trey-led jam, the band brought “Tweezer” to a roaring peak before ultimately bringing it in for a soft landing by way of more blissful ambience. Extending the final section of the jam out to its proper conclusion, the band then moves it seamlessly into “My Friend, My Friend,” a subtle nod to how far they’d come since Bethel back in May.

The Top Ten Jams Of 2011

“Boogie On Reggae Woman -> Waves” – Bethel, NY – 05/27/2011

Coming out firing in the first set of the 2011 summer tour with jams in “Tweezer -> My Friend, My Friend,” “Wolfman’s Brother -> Walk Away” and “Kill Devil Falls,” the anything-goes feeling of the opening frame spilled over into set II with the first defining jam segment of the tour. The onset of Mike’s bubbly envelope-filetered bass that led into the band’s classic cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Boogie On Reggae Woman” initially gave fans worry that the set was to turn into a song-based affair, all but tossing the first sets creative peaks out the window. Yet as the song ended Trey chose to extend the mini-jam, generally revolving around Gordo’s bass, and instead built a wall of loops that threatened to descend the piece into chaos, but instead, turned out to be one of the experimental highlights of the show. As the loops became more and more disjointed though, Trey deconstructed the jam, opening up the space within the theme, and ultimately paving the way for “Waves.” Unseen since Red Rocks ’09, “Waves” had been soundchecked the previous night, and the ensuing 27-minute jam had been leaked out to the fan base, only exciting fans further for the upcoming tour. Emerging slowly from the decaying “Boogie On” jam, the jam that built out of “Waves” is among the most blissful moments of the entire summer. Inspired directly from Trey’s affinity for the guitar work of Beach House’s Alex Scally, the jam wove through various passages of soft guitar-driven melodies. Delicately playing over the band’s fluttering melodies, the jam ebbed and flowed like a quiet creek, each time it appeared it was finished, a new theme would begin. Finally coming to a rest in “Prince Caspian” some 13 minutes later, the jam set the bar pretty high for the summer tour, on its very first night. No doubt inspiring some of the heavy explorations throughout the summer, in some ways, the Bethel “Waves” was never topped in 2011.

On the first night of the band’s second weekend of summer, kicking off the midwest portion of the tour, on Mike Gordon’s 46th birthday, Phish threw down a defining segment of 2011, and of 3.0 as a whole. Weaving together three of the band’s seminal songs in a fully flowing, 58-minute jam, Phish built off of the musical high’s of the first two nights at Bethel, and the first night in Holmdel, NJ with a massive jam off “Down With Disease” and standout versions of “Fluffhead” and “David Bowie.” Opening the set with a distorted tease of “Happy Birthday” by Mike, the band absolutely tore through the Hoist-era classic before blazing into the unknown. Building the jam around staccato rhythms, the band fizzled out around 13 minutes in, giving all the impression that the jam would end without much fanfare. However, coming to play on this night just outside of Detroit, Trey wove a sublime riff around the hanging space of sound. Much like the Bethel “Waves,” the jam was re-built anew by this riff, before turning to darker, more sinister place. Peaking some three minutes later, the band once again brought the theme down, indicating an imminent conclusion. However, before the jam could die, Trey and Page latched onto a familiar theme, a classic riff they hadn’t used in a jam in years: John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme.” Continuing the jam in earnest around the jazzy theme, Phish played around with “ALS” allowing it to push the jam past the omnipresent 20-min barrier for 3.0 jams, and allowing it to build in a fully organic segue into “Fluffhead.” Playing a particularly inspired “Fluffhead,” due in large part to the emotions spilled over from the “DWD,” the legendary composition came to a massive peak, thrilling fans in the amphitheater and streaming the show from their couches. Yet just when fans thought the musical moment was over, Trey looped the final note of “Fluffhead,” distorting it until it became completely unrecognizable, and then segueing it perfectly into “David Bowie.” A song that felt incredibly lackluster and tame for the first year of 3.0, in 2010 “Bowie” was re-born with dark and sinister versions on 06/19/2010, 10/12/2010, and most notably, 10/20/2010. Building off those past highs, the DTE “Bowie” carried over the exploratory sentiments of the “DWD,” though here surging with an eye on the evil. Crafting a masterful version that stands in the top tier of the 3.0 echelon, “David Bowie,” completed the opening hour of 06/03/2011’s set II, a segment that will live on as one of the peaks of not only 2011, not only 3.0, but of Phish’s career when all is said and done.

“The Storage Jam” – Watkins Glen, NY – 07/02/2011

Without question, “The Storage Jam” from Super Ball IX is the single most important event of Phish’s entire 3.0 era to this point. More important than opening 03/06/2009 with “Fluffhead,” more important than the Gorge ’09, even more important that Trey’s Ocedoc. When they played their first festival of 3.0, the Halloween-tinged Festival 8, many fans were up in arms over the lack of secret set. A festival tradition dating back to The Clifford Ball, Phish’s secret sets were opportunities for both the band and their fans to dive completely into the unknown, deep in the night, with the only goal in mind being exploration and pushing their music forward. While many feared that the secret set had gone the way of the 30 minute jam in 3.0, the harsh reality at the time was that the band was simply not comfortable with each other enough again to create any lasting music in an open jam setting. Flash forward to summer 2011 and Phish was primed for some serious exploration, now two years into their return. Fucking with their fans as they love to do, Phish stole away to a makeshift USA Storage unit in the middle of the festival grounds, treating their fans to an hour of completely unwritten improvisational music – save for the loose “Sleeping Monkey” 50 min in – that dove deep into Hades, resurrecting a Phish we hadn’t seen nor heard in over seven years. Implying that they could still jam, the jam’s had just been in storage as they got their feet firmly on the ground over the first two years of 3.0, “The Storage Jam” was unanimously welcomed by Phish fans everywhere as it signified a renewed emphasis on exploration. Spending the majority of it’s first 30 minutes weaving in and out of psychedelic themes, the section from 18 – 22 minutes shines as the most re-listenable music of the jams first half. Full of siren loops, an eerie riff from Trey, repeated over and over, thumping, off-beat Bass from Gordo and Fish, and the first signs of the Theramin in 2011 from Page, it’s the kind of trippy noodling that was at home in Summer 1995, but was more than welcome here in 2011. Around 32 minutes however, everything fucking clicks. As Trey signals a sinister riff, the rest of the band follows suit, building a theme that’s among their most memorable, and could have been plucked right out of a jam rooted in the 06/19/2004 “A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing.” Moving through another ambient movement, a nasty funk jam, and ultimately a hysterical and appropriate take on “Sleeping Monkey” – a song that’s most notably used as an encore any time the band plays a particularly inspired show – “The Storage Jam” came to a stunning finish as Trey buildt the final note of “Sleeping Monkey” to a point of menacing distortion, before ultimately laying it down to rest. A culmination of everything the band had been seeking to do since re-emerging in March 2009, “The Storage Jam” pushed Phish in ways they hadn’t been throughout all of 3.0, and as we’ll see with the following jams on this list, inspired them to continue pushing in search of the unknown.

“A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing” – Watkins Glen, NY – 07/03/2011

The first jam to fully encapsulate the effect “The Storage Jam” had on Phish, the Undermind rarity, “A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing” appeared late in the band’s first set on 07/03/2011, taking the ideas realized in the storage shed, and bringing them to light. Moving past the sinister themes of the songs melody and into the blissful and sublime, the jam is akin to the Bethel “Waves” and SBIX “Simple” in its emphasis of space and time over notes. Perfectly matching the mood of the early July evening, the jam contrasts the song’s theme in it’s melodic tone. After slowly bringing the “ASIHTOS” theme to a close, the mood changes dramatically at 6:57 when Gordo begins to play an uplifting melody. The rest of the band latches onto Mike’s lead and they’re immediately off into the land of blissful serendipity. Stretching the theme out, they then begin to incorporate the space that in 2009 only signified an imminent segue into a new song, yet in 2011 serves as notice of a continuing jam. Further seeparating the “ASIHTOS” from any ambient jam in the formidable years of 3.0, Phish brought the jam to a peaceful conclusion rather than pushing it into a new song. A symbolic nod to “The Storage Jam” some 12 hours earlier, the SBIX “A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing,” helped to craft 07/03/2011 as the best show of 3.0

Sometimes it just all comes together for Phish. On August 5th, 2011, on the first night of the second leg of their 2011 Summer tour, at the wide open Gorge Amphitheater, Phish threw down a stunning 40 minute jam sequence that without question ranks as the single greatest piece of music they’ve played in a concert since returning in March 2009. Busting the second set wide open with their classic take on The Velvet Underground tune, Phish wasted no time in taking “Rock & Roll” deep into the outer reaches. By seven and a half minutes in, any notion of the song’s them was in the rear view mirror as Trey began weaving minor keyed licks around Gordo and Fishman’s grooves, and choicely implementing his whammy pedal into the jam. Page then began pushing the jam even further into the unknown through a repetitive trance via his keys. After building a wall of loops Trey reentered the jam with an Middle Eastern-esque riff that became more and more distorted with each repeat. Mike and Fish latched onto his idea, creating a heavier foundation to the jam, ultimately drawing some powerful “Moma Dance” – esque teases from Trey. Now fully entrenched in the band’s darkest jam since 2004, Page moved from his keys to the Theremin, unleashing the beast from storage, further building the Hellish theme the band had conjured up. Capped off with Gordo’s demented reprise of the “It’s All right” chorus, the jam had fully departed from anything that resembled Phish 3.0 and was instead residing now in a category all its own. Riding the menacing groove to what appeared to be a proper, fading conclusion, Phish had one more surprise up their sleeves. As Trey stepped back and allowed the loops to build and fade on their own, Gordo stepped up and threw down one of the funkiest and most powerful bass licks of 3.0. The rest of the band jumped on the new direction continuing the jam, this time with a harder, more rock-based movement before it led fluidly into “Meatstick.” A joy to hear at any show, this “Meatstick” worked as a humorous bridge, leading the band out the darkness of “Rock & Roll,” before leading into a bass-led theme that would ultimately bring them to “Boogie On Reggae Woman.” The triumvirate was completed with the Stevie Wonder classic, a song which moved from it’s bubbly theme into staccato beats before filtering off in a wall of loops, and ultimately leading into “Farmhouse.” An absolutely stunning piece of music, Phish proved on the first night at The Gorge that “The Storage Jam” hadn’t been all for naught, and that thanks to that hour locked in the shed, they were a band reborn, ready to explore the ethers like they hadn’t in years.

“Light” – Stateline, NV – 08/09/2011

Along with “Backwards Down The Number Line,” no song has meant more to Phish in 3.0 as “Light.” Emerging from a heroic “Tweezer” at Fenway Park back in the Spring of 2009, “Light” quickly became Phish’s go-to jam vehicle during the Summer and Fall of 2009. Peaking with versions on 08/07/2009, 11/01/2009 and 12/02/2009, the song once-again led the way in 2010 with it’s 08/07/2010, 10/19/2010, and 10/26/2010 journeys. However, after a lackluster version on 12/30/2010, the song seemed plagued by a rushed jam segment leading to an awkward transition into another song for the entirety of June. The speed bumps were completely forgotten by the time the band reached Lake Tahoe in early August and threw down a version that joins not only the other two played nearly a year, and two years to the date prior to this, but also the other peak versions of “Light” played throughout 3.0. Reminiscent of the rhythmic experimentations Phish took the song on the previous fall, the Tahoe “Light” blended plinko jam themes with “Storage Jam” – esque noise and textures, creating one of the more mind altering, and unique jams of the summer. Highlighted by Gordo and Fish throughout, the jam was akin to 1997 jams in that Trey and Page’s main roles were to litter the top of the jam with a flurry of ideas and contributions, rather than full on leads. Combined with the Gorge “Rock & Roll,” the UIC “Waves -> Undermind” and the Dick’s “Piper,” the Tahoe “Light” put on high display the affects of “The Storage Jam,” and proved how innovative Phish could still be when diving deep into the depths of the netherworld.

“Waves -> Undermind” – Chicago, IL – 08/15/2011

Seven years to the day after the dream of Phish seemingly died in a drug-induced muddy field in Northern Vermont, the band played one of their defining shows of the modern era, directly contrasting their farewell festival, yet subtly nodding to the sounds of the bygone era. Midway through the second set of the band’s opening show in the storied UIC Pavilion Phish crafted a 25-minute masterpiece comprised of two of 2.0’s staples. Emerging with the third “Waves” since the transcendent Bethel version, the band looked to build upon that version, though instead of focusing on the blissful melodies that naturally grew out of the song’s theme, this time Trey was dead set on crafting a more rock-based, guitar laden jam. Seamlessly flowing into a percussive beat that hinted at “Undermind” four minutes prior the official segue into the song proper, it was Trey’s jam to dominate before he and Mike finally guided the band into only the 11th version of the 2.0 song. Playing a far looser version of the song than had been heard before, Phish wove in and out of each verse with something of wild abandon, giving the song it’s closest alignment to it’s origins. Yet it was when they fully departed from the song’s theme that the real magic happened, and one of the best jams of the year emerged. By turning the song’s rhythmic nature on it’s head, Trey began interlacing the beats with subtle funk chords, moving the melody further and further away from it’s origins. Yet before anyone could latch onto the funk, the music faded, Page traveled over the Theremin, and Trey began lacing together a melody that was fit for a sleeping child. Using the Theremin to coat the music, rather than dominate, the UIC “Undermind” is the best example of the Theremin being incorporated with the band’s sound since they first brought it out in “The Storage Jam.” Allowing the theme to fade off in the ether, one of the most unique jam sequences of the summer, and of 3.0, disappeared into “Steam,” thus continuing the elements set.

“Tweezer” – Denver, CO – 09/03/2011

After two years in which “Tweezer” dominated the 3.0 jam scene, culminating with one of the best jams of 2010 on 12/30/2010, the legendary jam vehicle fell flat during the early part of 2011. Sure there were some promising versions here and there – 06/05/2011 immediately springs to mind – but more often than not, the song would get “Horse’d” or “Julius’d” before it ever had a chance to really be explored. That is until it emerged seamlessly out of a “Down With Disease” jam on the second night of the band’s final stand of the summer in Denver, CO. Moving rapidly out of the funk-based origins of the song into a more melodic and uplifting theme, the jam took on a unique quality all its own, one that would soon evoke memories of the band’s style from the Fall of 1999. With near perfect precision, Trey built a soulful solo above the powerful drums of Fish and Page’s heroic baby-grand. Much like the phenomenal “Light” from 10/19/2010, it was clear the band loved the musical zone they’d discovered as they spent the entirety of the jam residing in it. Rather than moving swiftly from one theme to another as most 3.0 jams do, Phish opted to play within a singular theme, crafting ideas from within it. The result is one of the most sublime and organic jams of the era, a nod to their patient past, and a hopeful sign of things to come in the future. Dissolving into a gorgeous ambient movement, the jam came in for a soft landing before emerging in “Golden Age.” An emotive piece that summed up the band’s place at the end of their summer tour, the Dick’s “Tweezer” is the kind of jam Phish could only play after months of consistently playing together, and shows the benefit of their time and dedication to the road.

“Piper> Harry Hood” – Denver, CO – 09/04/2011

On the final night of their summer 2011 tour, Phish threw down a jam midway through the second set that hit all the highs that had occurred throughout the tour, and celebrated all they’d accomplished over the previous four months. Playing easily the best “Piper” of the year to that point, the band dove into the raging theme of the song before moving at a blistering clip into a playful and danceable section which featured Trey and Fish singing some unknown rhyme in unison with the beat. Building the jam out of it’s goofy interplay, Page stepped to the Theremin for one more go around of the summer as the band engaged in some serious “Storage Jamming.” The nod towards the seminal moment of the summer allowed Phish to bring the jam to natural conclusion before fading into their legendary piece of music, borne out of Trey’s near-death experience in Italy: “Harry Hood.” A song that, while always welcome in 3.0, has time-after-time struggled to live up to the lofty expectations built by it’s just incredible performances throughout the 90’s, the Dick’s “Hood” finally saw Trey in particular nail the song’s ethereal solo, resulting in the best pure version since certainly 2003, but probably since sometime in the mid-90’s. An absolutely sublime moment that resulted in a full on peak of the song’s emotive theme, the Dick’s “Hood” was a celebratory version of the song, capping off an incredible summer tour, and an incredible finale to the tour.

“Piper” – New York City, NY – 12/30/2011

Midway through the second set of probably the weakest show of the 2011 New Year’s run, Phish threw down a “Piper” that clearly built off the stellar version in Colorado four months early and gave a promising sign to fans that “Piper” would once again be used as a regular jam vehicle. Moving through multiple themes at a breakneck pace, much like the “Down With Disease -> What’s The Use?” from 08/14/2010, this version of “Piper” put on high display how connected the band is after almost three years of playing together again, yet all the more making fans scratch their heads over why the NYE run felt so underwhelming. Dramatically moving from chaotic interplay to a blissful melody at 9:19, the band changed on a dime for the wide open soundscapes that defined many of their best jams of the year. Building through siren exchanges from Trey and Page, Gordo filled out the blossoming jam with a massive tug at his envelope filtered-bass, filling the arena with fuzzy bass. Page then took charge of the jam while Trey opted to sculpt walls of sound, giving the chairman of the boards a fitting moment in the sun after a year in which he absolutely dominated the majority of their best jams. Fading into “Twist” the jam which had covered so much ground over 15 minutes, ended with a whisper, a symbolic reference of sorts to Phish in 2011.

Honorable Shows

Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD – 06/11/2011

Set I: Daniel Saw The Stone*, AC/DC Bag>Ocelot, Access Me, Vultures, Wilson>Sand>Roses Are Free -> Reba, On Your Way Down>Run Like An Antelope#

Set II: Birds Of A Feather>Tweezer -> The Horse -> Silent In The Morning>Waves>Chalk Dust Torture##, Rock & Roll>Albuquerque>Piper -> Wading In The Velvet Sea -> 2001>Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan>Suzy Greenberg

Encore: Show Of Life>Tweezer Reprise

* First “Daniel Saw The Stone” since 08/03/2003

# “Run Like An Antelope” contained “On Your Way Down” teases from Trey

## “Chalk Dust Torture” contained “Birds Of A Feather teases

After 2010’s epic “Saw It Again”-laced Set II, expectations were high leading up to Phish’s return weekend at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Honoring the fun-filled 06/27/2010 show, the band opened with the traditional rarity, “Daniel Saw The Stone” for the first time since the 2003 IT festival. Mixing the first set with punctual takes on the band’s classics – “AC/DC Bag,” “Wilson,” Reba,” “Run Like An Antelope” – and inspired versions of other rarities – “Access Me,” “Vultures,” “On Your Way Down” – Phish crafted the ideal summer first set. During a week when they struggled to both consistently play with energy and purpose, the first night of Merriweather Post displayed a band at ease and having fun. Mixing surprises with excellent standards, the set just sounds like a June Phish show. For their second set, the band opted for a song-based movement, mixing some of their best jams vehicles – “Tweezer,” “Rock & Roll,” “Piper” – with a few quieter, more introspective songs – “The Horse -> Silent In The Morning,” “Albuquerque,” “Wading In The Velvet Sea”. On paper it took the appearance of some of their less-loved “recital” shows of 3.0 – Hampton 09, 08/15/2009, 10/15/2010, 12/30/2010 – yet when one listens, it is a set that flows perfectly; the amount of songs keeps the listener engaged, rather than frustrated. Highlighted by a psychedelic and distorted take on “Rock & Roll” – subtly hinting at The Gorge’s epic version later in the summer – which smoothly lands in the always welcome “Albuquerque,” a torrid “Piper”, and an absolutely blazing “2001>Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan>Suzy Greenberg” to end the set, the show’s interwoven dichotomy makes it a keeper in 2011.

The Gorge Amphitheater – George, WA – 08/06/2011

Set I: Possum, The Moma Dance>Sample In A Jar, Limb By Limb, Ocelot, Poor Heart, On Your Way Down, Wolfman’s Brother# -> Maze>Wilson>Fluffhead

Set II: Chalk Dust Torture>Tweezer>Prince Caspian>Sand -> Tweezer>Birds Of A Feather, Waste>Golden Age>Reba>Run Like An Antelope##

The night after blowing apart the minds of their fan base with the masterful “Rock & Roll -> Meatstick -> Boogie On Reggae Woman” jam sequence, Phish returned for their second night at The Gorge and played a far more straight forward, rocking show, yet one which displayed better overall flow, particularly in set II. Opening with a string of tunes that one would have expected to have been played the night before, the first set took a while to get off the ground, regardless of how good the band sounded, particularly in “Limb By Limb” and “Ocelot.” Yet when they dropped the Little Feat rarity “On Your Way Down,” the show started in earnest as the final four songs that followed were not only fan favorites, but top notch versions at that. Highlighted by a phenomenal “Wolfman’s Brother” that touched on Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker” before moving on to a disjointed groove, the song was the first genuine experimentation of the night. Seamlessly segueing into “Maze,” the two mid-90’s classic were united in the most random way, yet it worked and set off a firestorm within the crowd. Closing the set with a classic “Wilson>Fluffhead,” the crowd was at a fever pitch heading into setbreak. Opening set II with “Chalk Dust,” it’s first such appearance since it was taken to the netherworld on 06/25/2010, it appeared the band was poised to give their angst-ridden classic the storage treatment. However, the set’s theme was to be tightness, thus when the song came to a roaring end, Trey immediately launched into a “Tweezer” that set off an explosion within the open-air theater. Building the jam around fall-back funk themes the jam held little weight on it’s own, but when it led into a unique and lilting “Prince Caspian,” a shred-fest within “Sand” and ultimately a perfect segue back into “Tweezer,” all was forgiven. The other high point of the set came in the set closing trio of the TV On The Radio jam, “Golden Age” and the contrasting classics, “Reba” and “Run Like An Antelope.” Appearing in the second set for the second time this summer, and only the fifth since 2000, the song gave band and audience alike an opportunity to step back and reflect of the incredible weekend it had been. Finishing the set with an “Antelope” littered with teases of almost every song in the set, the band sent a message of how much fun they’d had at the Gorge, only further emphasized with the “Suzy>Sanity>Tweezer Reprise” encore that almost shook the hill into the Columbia River. Similar to 06/11/2011 in it’s ability to show Phish’s excellence even when they don’t jam, 08/06/2011 is yet another one of those shows that just sounds like Phish in the summer time.

The first night of Phish’s 2011 New Year’s Eve run, 12/28/2011 proved to be the most inspired show of the underwhelming end to the year. Opening with “Free” for the first time in the band’s history, followed by the first “Glide” since MSG 2009 – only the second since the Coventry debacle, and only the fourth in eleven years – the stakes were set mighty high as many thought this run would carry over the inspired playing of the summer of 2011. A jam off of “Cities” in the clean-up spot only pushed the crowd to a roaring peak as Mike and Trey locked in for a jam akin to the one of the same Talking Heads cover at The Greek Theater in August 2010. The rest of the first set was full of tour opener set I standards – “Stash,” “Sample In A Jar,” “Kill Devil Falls” – a couple rarities – “The Ballad Of Curtis Loew,” “Contact” – and a stellar type-I jam in “Bathtub Gin” to close out the first frame. The second set proved to be me the most fluid and experimental set of the entire four-show run, highlighted by a perfect segue from “Carini -> Tweezer,” and a rhythmic jaunt through “Rock & Roll” which found an ideal landing in the least likely of places: “NICU.” Closing the set with a “Harry Hood” that matched the sharpness of the Dick’s version followed by the emotive ballad “Bug,” the band walked off the stage triumphant. Encoring with an unexpected trio of “Tube>Rocky Top>Tweezer Reprise” it appeared Phish could do no wrong and would surpass their past two NYE run’s with ease. However, after the following night’s “The Sloth>You Enjoy Myself” opener, nothing, aside from 12/30/2011’s “Piper” would approach both the song selection, experimentation, nor wild abandonment that defined much of 2011, and 12/28/2011 in particular.

On the second night of Phish’s 2011 Summer Tour the band played an absolute gem of a show, one in which many would expect to come two weeks into a tour, rather than right off the bat. However, after rehearsing extensively on the hallowed grounds of Woodstock in the week leading up to the tour, the band was primed and ready from the get-go, resulting in two highly inspired, exploratory shows out the gates. Opening with “Theme From The Bottom” the show got off to a unique start as the tour had kicked both night’s off with rare openers. Playing a perfect summer set, Phish dove right into the jams with a thick “Cities,” followed by a dreamlike jam in “Halley’s Comet” that spilled perfectly into “Runaway Jim.” Complimenting the rest of the set with tight versions of “Quinn The Eskimo” and “Limb By Limb” the peak of the set came with the closing jam out of “Bathtub Gin.” Typically a type-I shred-fest in 3.0, Trey in particular locked onto a groove right as it sounded as though the band was reaching the final peak and instead diverted the jam in a mash-up of the rare “Manteca” and the theme to “Golden Age.” Toying with the crowd, they wove in and out of this jam before finally bringing it back into “Gin” for a climaxing conclusion of the first set. Opening the second set with the expected “Down With Disease,” the band went on to craft one of their most connected, fully flowing sets of the summer. Taking “DWD” down a softer, more ambient-based path Trey wove lyrical riffs around a porous foundation before stepping back and allowing it to dissolve in a wall of sound. Taking their time to build out of “DWD” and into “Free” the segue was a far cry from the rushed segues into the song throughout much of 3.0. Dropping into “Backwards Down The Number Line” signaled the second significant jam of the set as Trey spent serious time playing around the comeback anthem’s theme before peaking it in a glorious celebration that is really how the song deserves to be played literally every time. Adding some Phish humor midway through the set by way of the first Phish song, “Makisupa Policeman,” the “House” gag that would follow the band throughout their June leg was born out of a story on Trey getting high at each of the guy’s houses. Closing out the set with a classic “Harry Hood>Cavern>Bowie,” plus an always welcome “A Day In The Life” encore, Phish left the stage at the top of their game. A stunning opening weekend to the Summer 2011 tour, the first two nights in particular would go down as some of the best music the band played all year.

There are certain Phish shows when all involved – band and crowd – know going in it’s going to be a classic. A week into their summer 2011 the band dropped into the Motor City for a birthday show for Gordo and played a fully-flowing show that featured a fun-filled Set I, the longest jam of 3.0 in “Down With Disease” and a classic set II, only six-songs long, reminiscent of the band’s experimental throwdown’s in the 90’s. Opening a show for the first time since 2000, “Wolfman’s Brother” provided insight into the energetic and exploratory show the band was about to embark on. A song that really blossomed the previous Fall after a year and a half run as the most consistent tune of 3.0, the version from Clarkston, while remaining relatively contained to its structure, certainly displayed the band’s willingness this early in the tour to pushing their song’s past their 3.0 limit. Filling the set with powerful takes on first set standards – “Funky Bitch,” “Sample In A Jar,” “NICU,” “Chalk Dust” – along with a notable “Mike’s Groove” and a surprise “Tela,” the set grabbed the crowd, and although it didn’t explore too much new territory, showed how sharp the band was in the early part of summer. It was the second set though, that would be remembered for both the incredibly diverse, blissfully stunning jam out of “Down With Disease,” the segues into the classic’s “Fluffhead” and “David Bowie” that followed, and the overall length of the set, all of which combined to make it the early favorite set of the year. After the nearly hour-long triumvirate, the expected breather in “Waste” felt a whole lot more appreciated by the crowd, stunned by what they’d just witnessed. Yet showing how keenly aware they were of the set they were playing, the band capped off the show with a “2001>Cavern” chock full of James Brown teases, and a raging “Good Times, Bad Times” encore. A special show for both band and crowd, Clarkston provided an early peak for the summer tour, one that would be matched by the following night in Ohio, but one that wouldn’t be surpassed until exactly one month later at Super Ball IX.

Blossom Music Center – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – 06/04/2011

Set I: Kill Devil Falls, Guyute, Fuck Your Face>Foam, Ocelot, Rocket In My Pocket, Back On The Train>Guelah Papyrus, Tube+>Run Like An Antelope#++

++ Trey mentioned different band members including Toph before the “Marco Esquandolas” section

^ “Steam” made it’s Phish debut

# “Run Like An Antelope” contained a “Streets Of Cairo” tease

## “Sneaking Sally” contained a “Manteca” tease

### The second part of “Harry Hood” contained a “The Lizards” and a “Have Mercy” tease

#### “Character Zero” contained a “Smoke On The Water” tease

A night after playing their most exploratory jam to this point in 3.0, Phish put on a show that, while it was the antithesis to 06/03/2011, proved that when Phish is really feeling it, it doesn’t matter what kind of show they play. With a first set that contained some uneven flow as the band toyed with rockers – “Kill Devil Falls,” “Back On The Train,” “Run Like An Antelope” – compositions – “Guyute,” “Foam” – and rarities – “Fuck Your Face,” “Rocket In My Pocket” “Guelah Papyrus” – it still retained the magic from the previous night, and proved to be one of those puzzling sets that shouldn’t have worked, but somehow did. In a similar manner, the second set was a far more song-based affair that the previous night, though the band used the format to show off their ability to jam within their songs, as was heard in the disjointed climax in “Possum” and the “Harry Hood -> Have Mercy -> Harry Hood” that gave the set it’s emotional peak. However the set’s true highlights came in the debut of the year’s lone new original, “Steam,” the sublime jam that emerged from “Piper’s” rage and spilled smoothly into “The Lizards,” and the contrastingly menacing jam that built from “Sneaking Sally” and segued brilliantly into “Harry Hood.” Closing the show with a stunning take on the classic, “Slave To The Traffic Light,” the show was proof of how dexterous of a band Phish had become throughout 3.0, and along with the previous night made the June midwest run the band’s best until their UIC trifecta over two months later.

Verizon Wireless Ampitheater – Charlotte, NC – 06/17/2011

Set I: Mike’s Song -> I Am Hydrogen>Weekapaug Groove, Bouncing Around The Room>NICU+>Sample In A Jar, Col. Forbin’s Ascent -> Fly Famous Mockingbird, Axilla I>Wolfman’s Brother, Scent Of A Mule#, Stealing Time For The Faulty Plan

After ten days worth of mostly forgettable shows, defined by recital setlists, aborted jams, and an overall puzzling disconnect from the band, Phish played a rarity-filled, fully flowing summery show in Charlotte, NC that still remains one of the highlights of June, and of 2011 in whole. Opening with the first “Mike’s Groove” opener since 08/15/2004, the band sent a clear message out the gates that they were stoked and ready to throw down a memorable night. Filling the first set with punctual versions of first set standards – “NICU,” “Sample In A Jar,” “Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan” – alongside a heated jam in “Wolfman’s Brother,” and the first “Col. Forbin’s -> Mockingbird” since 07/04/2010, by the time the band stepped off the stage they had completed one of the top three sets of the summer thus far. In the second set, the same ideas that made Set I so much fun spilled over as the band engaged in one of June’s best improvisational moments in “Rock & Roll -> Ghost,” before throwing down a surprise Set II “Reba” – it’s first appearance in a second set since 09/22/2000 – and then engaging the crowd in the ultra-rare “Icculus” – first since 08/14/2009 – and Fishman sung Syd Barrett tune, “Bike” – only the second since 2000. Closing out the show with a raging “Chalk Dust Torture,” followed by the increasingly rare “You Enjoy Myself,” along with the energized “Wilson>Loving Cup” encore, the band kicked off the final weekend of their June run with a memorable show that far surpassed much of the music played during the meat of the tour, and left many wondering why the band had strayed so far from their focus and energy in the first two weeks of the tour in the first place. In any sense, Charlotte is the kind of show that shows Phish comfortable deep within a tour, simply having fun, loving playing in front of their fans. A great show to sum up the overall sentiments of 3.0.

Set II: Big Balls^>Down With Disease&& -> No Quarter>Party Time, Ghost>Gotta Jibboo>Light, Waves -> What’s The Use?>Meatstick>Stealing Time From The Faulty Plan, The Star Spangled Banner

Encore: First Tube

* First “The Curtain” without since 09/09/2000

** First “Fly Famous Mockingbird” with narration since 09/30/2000

+ The narration in “Fly Famous Mockingbird” referenced the previous night’s “Storage Jam” and explained how the band got locked in a storage unit on their way to Colorado in 1988, and that everything since, including the entire SBIX weekend had been a mental projection from the band to their fans.

# “Big Black Furry Creature From Mars” contained a tease of “The Twilight Zone” and “Leave It To Beaver” theme’s from Mike

## “Wilson” contained a tease of “Mind Left Body”

### “Reba” contained a “Dave’s Energy Guide” tease

& “A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing” was unfinished

&& “Down With Disease” was unfinished

^ “Big Balls” (AC/DC) made it’s Phish debut

Hands down, the single best show Phish has played since their return in March 2009. Sure, you could make an argument for 01/01/2011, or 08/07/2010, or 10/20/2010, or even 08/07/2009, but none of those – while phenomenal shows in their own right – have the combined energy, wackiness, exploratory spirit, and overall anything-goes Phish that has defined so much of their career, all packed into one show, quite like 07/03/2011. The result of the previous night’s secret “Storage Jam,” Phish emerged on the final day of their Super Ball IX festival totally relaxed, completely enthralled with their playing, and ready to throw down a show, the likes of which it’s fan base hadn’t experienced in years. Particularly in the first set, it felt as if the band could do no wrong, any song they played, any direction they took it worked, sculpting a first frame full of unique and inspired versions of classics – “Wilson,” “Reba,” “David Bowie” – and rarities alike – “Destiny Unbound,” “Mound,” “A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing.” Starting in earnest with the first “Curtain” without since 1.0, the band dove into “Forbin’s -> Mockingbird” and delivered the first narration for the Gamehendge-era tune since Vegas 2000. Crafting a tale about how the band got locked in a storage unit on their first tour outside of Vermont in 1988, Trey messed with the crowd in classic form, revealing that the band just kept playing music while locked inside, that everything they did between then and 2011 was actually a mental projection from them to their fans. A wholly connected moment for the band and the fan base, the story evoked memories of the wacky stories Trey would tell when the crowd was a mere fraction of the size it’s grown to today. From that point forward the rest of the set was absolute fire, with a best-of-3.0 version – and a few top-10-ever versions thrown in there – that you simply have to hear to believe. Summed up in the “Reba” whistling outro that the band butchered horribly, but used the mistake to distort the gaily music into an eerie “David Bowie,” the set is truly Phish at their finest. Set II was more than anything, the icing on the cake. Opening with the appropriate first time cover of AC/DC’s “Big Balls,” the set featured expansive jams in “Down With Disease,” “Light,” and “Waves,” along with another stellar cover of “No Quarter,” and a deep second-set appearance for “What’s The Use?” Capping off the set with the expected and welcome “Star Spangled Banner,” the boys displayed their incredible musical fortitude by nailing their a cappella cover. A show for the ages, 07/03/2011 took the massive culmination of 2 years as a band that was “The Storage Jam” and showed their fans they were not only keenly aware of the side of Phish they all craved, but that after all these years, and after so much unknown, they were still that band. As would be seen with the August and Dick’s runs, the turning point that was “The Storage Jam,” was not all for naught.

Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena At Harvey’s – Stateline, NV – 08/09/2011

Set I: Party Time, The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony>AC/DC Bag>Mellow Mood, Rift>Punch You In The Eye>Meat, David Bowie, Bouncing Around The Room, Horn, Water In The Sky, 46 Days

Since the onset of 3.0, two trends have held true: the August run combines the energy and excitement of uneven June shows with a commitment to exploration, and, the West coast produces some of the loosest Phish this side of 1997. Fresh off their transcendent performance at The Gorge – featuring The jam of the era in “Rock & Roll,” along with one of better shows of the year on 08/06/2011 – Phish arrived in the parking lot-turned amphitheater, right in between a casino and Late Tahoe, poised to give their fans a uniquely crafted show that balanced a recital approach in Set I, and a fully flowing, experimental set II. Kicking things off with “Party Time,” “Oh Kee Pa> AC/DC Bag>Mellow Mood,” the show carried the kind of fun-filled summery feel that harkened back to 08/14/2010’s masterful performance. Using the set as a means to highlight some of the band’s best proper songs – “Rift,” “Water In The Sky,” “Horn” – while still saving some time for the funk in “Meat,” diving deep into psychedelia in “David Bowie,” and capping things off with a torrid “46 Days,” it was a diverse outing, one that retained incredible flow. A strange phenomenon in the band’s recital shows, the first set seemed to be eternally connected like an album, regardless of the fact that some of the songs were written more than twenty years apart. Set II was a fully-flowing machine, complete with groundbreaking improv in “Light,” a classic segue for the ages in “Chalk Dust -> Slave,” and a gimmicky first-time rendition of Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” a direct response to the loads of hand-held light-up rockets seen amongst the crowd. Capping things off with a blissful take on “Harry Hood,” a song which has once again returned to it’s role as the emotional peak of whatever set it’s played in, followed by a raging “Walls Of The Cave,” the set was among the more hooked-up moments for Phish in a year full of them. Closing out the night with an emotive “Bug>Coil” encore, Phish walked off the stage having played one of their more diverse, understated shows of the year. A show which let the music speak for itself, the first night of Tahoe was the epitome of west coast Phish.

UIC Pavilion – Chicago, IL – 08/15/2011

Set I: Back On The Train>Rift>Guelah Papyrus, Scent Of A Mule, Jesus Just Left Chicago, Wolfman’s Brother, Anything But Me, Babylon Baby^, Reba>Alumni Blues+ -> Letter To Jimmy Page -> Alumni Blues

After 27 shows, two and a half months on the road, 18 cities, 12 states, and one festival, Phish arrived at the hallowed UIC Pavilion in Chicago, IL about as well-oiled a machine as they had been in all of 3.0. As a direct result, the six shows played between Chicago and Denver to close out the 2011 summer tour is some of the most memorable, consistent, and on-point Phish any of us had heard in years. Playing without restrain, the term 3.0 need not apply to any of the UIC or Dick’s shows, as each displayed a band on top of their game once again, and each would be a highlight in any year. Four of the six shows from the run round out this list, the other two, while they didn’t quite make the cut, are still incredibly memorable shows in their own right. Simply put, were I making a top five list of the year, it’d be the following four shows only narrowly edged out by 07/03/2011. The culmination of Phish’s entire two-year re-birth, reformation and reclamation process, UIC and Dick’s is Phish at their most consistent, zaniest, and absolute finest. Kicking things off with a highly energized set featuring explosive type-I jams in “Back On The Train,” “Jesus Just Left Chicago,” “Reba,” and the surprise set closing classic of “Alumni -> Jimmy Page -> Alumni,” Phish reined in the fever pitch of a crowd gathered in the first indoor shows since 01/01/2011. Rounding things out with a divergent jam out of “Wolfman’s,” plus a heartfelt take the Round Room ballad, “Anything From Me” – only the second since Coventry – the set flew perfectly thanks to it’s rock spirit, yet kept things interesting with both surprise song choices, and inspired moments of variety. Set II however was about as perfect a second set as the band has played since possibly 08/02/2003. Traversing through their Earthly “element” songs, the band kept things tight with a six-song set, allowed the improvisational music that emerged from the songs to craft a tale the band hadn’t flirted with since 2.0. Anchored by a fully hooked-up jam within “Waves -> Undermind,” the set also featured a seedy “Sand,” and the band’s best performance of the 2011 debut, “Steam,” until 12/31/2011’s sinister take. Walking off the stage after “Fire,” many, while incredibly satisfied, were confused at to why the band chose to end the set after only an hour. Yet, fucking with their fans as they may, Phish treated the crowd to a five song encore, featuring the ultra-rare – “Camel Walk,” – the massive composition – “Guyute” – and the most ethereal Phish song of them all – “Harry Hood. A show for the ages, 08/15/2011 kicked off a run of shows that were played in a way we hadn’t seen nor heard since 1.0.

A night after playing one of their most connected, on point improvisational sets in years, Phish returned to the UIC Pavilion and played a much more structured and song-based show, yet one that flowed just as well as it’s predecessor. Cruising out the gates with two gag openers – “Dinner And A Movie,” “Ha Ha Ha” – followed by an atypical take on “Chalk Dust Torture,” it was clear the energy from the previous night hadn’t subsided. Yet, where most of the band’s notable recital shows featured standard takes on standard tunes – just more of them – this set wove through various eras and styles of Phish, keeping listeners on their toes for it’s entirety. Featuring jams in “Walls Of The Cave,” “Runaway Jim” and “Ocelot,” along with humorous breaks in “Mexican Cousin” and “I Didn’t Know,” the boys threw a curveball by ending the set with the emotional, late-in-the-evening styled Stones’ tune, “Let It Loose,” seen for the first time since Indio. Returning to the experimental innovation that carried the second set the previous night, Phish came out blazing with a stunning “Down With Disease,” one that was only surpassed by the 06/03/2011 version this year. Moving seamlessly into “Twist,” it sounded as though the band was going to revive the once-jam monster, however, after an extended take on it’s blues themes, the flow of the overall set took over. Filling out the meat of the set with strong renditions of “Number Line,” “Theme” and “Golden Age,” the latter of which segued effortlessly into the always welcome, “A Day In The Life” – a show with a Beatles and Stones cover is never one to complain about – Phish ended the set with only the sixth “You Enjoy Myself” of the year. A song which had been used to close out literally every run in 2009 and 2010, it’s sudden rare quality made it far more appreciated than it had become in 3.0. Playing yet another extended encore the band treated the crowd to some of Trey’s best guitar work of the night in “Heavy Things” and “Slave,” before saying good night with “Rocky Top.” Carrying over the inspired playing of the previous night, 08/16 proved that at this point in the summer of 2011, it didn’t matter what kind of show they played, for whatever they played, they fucking nailed.

#### “Run Like An Antelope” and “Tweezer Reprise” contained “Down With Disease” teases

& “Down With Disease” was unfinished

The second night of the Labor Day Weekend Finale to the 2011 Summer tour featured a balanced Phish firing on all cylinders. Mixing rock with jams and gimmicks in a fully flowing setlist that displayed the entirety of their catalogue, the band continued the fire which started in Chicago, carried over to 09/02’s “Sssssss” show, and would see them end the summer at the top of their game. Opening with a string of well-played, first set standards, the show popped with an energy one wouldn’t expect with a “Moma,” “Ocelot,” “Funky Bitch” showcase. Yet things really began in earnest once the band dropped the rare “Axilla I,” and followed it with the triumvirate of “Llama,” “Fast Enough For You” and a raging “Wolfman’s Brother” to close things out. Ending on such a high note, it was reminiscent of 08/06/2011’s first set which started in much the same way, and ended just as hot. Opening Set II with the second-ever “Down With Disease -> Tweezer” – the first since 08/02/1997 – was about all the sign anyone needed as to what kind of set we were in for. Developing into an absolutely transcendent jam, “Tweezer” quickly wove from an A-minor funk-fest into a dreamlike Fall-99-esque passage that showed off Trey’s chops and displayed the band’s full-on connection this late in the summer. Peaking numerous times before dissolving into “Golden Age,” the jam continued the Summer 2011 trend of risk and reward with various types of jamming in the world of Phish. Highlighting the middle of the set was a searing “Kill Devil Falls” that warped into a swill of ambient noise before moving with ease into “2001,” the sequence displayed Phish’s career-spaning ability to meld styles that don’t appear to fit at first listen, this time with barroom rock and space-aged funk. Moving into “Light,” the song stopped briefly in a blissful theme before rising back into a full-on “Down With Disease” jam, thus sandwiching the first half of the set. Bringing the show and set to a fiery finish with “Cavern>Antelope,” along with a classic “Sleeping Monkey>Tweezer Reprise” encore, the show ended on a peak, one that would spill over to the following night, the final night of the tour. A mix of jams and energy, 09/03/2011 was reminiscent of the second night of tour way back in May, in it’s fully-flowing spirit, and moments of transcendent improv.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – Commerce City, CO – 09/04/2011

Set I: Maze*, Back On The Train#>Rift>Bathtub Gin##, The Way It Goes^###, Halfway To The Moon, Gumbo, Halley’s Comet -> Tube####>Timber>Roses Are Free>Chalk Dust Torture

# “Back On The Train” contained a “Sneaking Sally Through The Alley” tease from Trey

## “Bathtub Gin” contained a “Low Rider” tease from Trey

### “The Way It Goes” contained a “Streets Of Cairo” tease from Page

#### “Tube” contained a “Charlie Chan” tease from Trey

##### “Twist” contained a “Low Rider” jam

###### “Piper” contained a “Roadrunner” tease

####### “Ghost” contained an “Oye Como Va” tease

######## “Walls Of The Cave” contained “Rock & Roll” teases from Page

^ “The Way It Goes” (Gillian Welch) made it’s Phish debut

* First “Maze” opener since 12/09/1995

** First “Come Together” since 12/08/1995

& “Come Together” was unfinished

% “Piper” featured Page on the Theremin

A journey that began on the site of the original Woodstock Festival way back in May, over Memorial Day Weekend, concluded in a soccer stadium, in the industrial offshoot of Denver, CO, over Labor Day Weekend. Thirty-three shows deep, Phish used all the time committed to playing together throughout the summer to throw down one more show that will stand the test of time in 2011. A true two-set affair, Set I was all about the energy, while Set II was a fully flowing beast of jams and gimmicks, rarely stopping, displaying the band’s total connection and ability to go in any direction with their music. Opening with the first “Maze” opener since the legendary 12/09/1995 show that features maybe the greatest “You Enjoy Myself” of all time, the band seized upon the palpable energy of the crowd, and exploited them for all they were worth. Tearing through the Rift-era shot of adrenaline, they moved swiftly into a trio of “Back On The Train>Rift>Bathtub Gin,” the latter of which featured a jam so heated, it brought back memories of the 05/28/2011 “Ginteca” affair. Pausing briefly for a one-time take on Gillian Welch’s “The Way It Goes,” and the Page-penned gem “Halfway To The Moon,” the band revived the energy in earnest with a six song sequence of adrenaline that read: “Gumbo, Halley’s>Tube>Timber>Roses>Chalk Dust.” It was the kind of set that, upon ending, left all in the crowd wondering what had just happened and how in the world the band would top that. As they’d done throughout the entire year though, just when one thinks they’ve reached their peak, Phish has dug deep to wow their fans even more. Set II’s of tour closer’s are generally reserved for the band to revisit the song’s and ideas that brought them the most success throughout the year. Thus, it was incredibly appropriate for the band to open their 2011 tour-ending set with their cover of “Rock & Roll,” after playing such memorable versions on 06/07/2011, 06/11/2011, 06/17/2011, and 08/05/2011. Building the jam to it’s raucous peak, the band brought it down into a wholly groove-based segment before easing into a welcomed surprise of The Beatles “Come Together.” Albeit a sloppy version, the sheer fact the band had discovered this Lennon-gem by way of The Velvet Underground, for the first time since playing it on the fifteen-year anniversary of Lennon’s death, made the sequence of music all the more special. Allowing “Come Together” to bleed right into “Twist,” the band united their music with that of the past, a respectable move, and one they’ve gained the ability to do after so many years. Melding the Ghost-era jam vehicles, “Twist” and “Piper” together as they’ve been so many times before, the band took “Piper” on a ride it hadn’t experienced since 06/27/2010 in Merriweather. Landing in a full-on jam based around The Modern Lovers’ – and one-time Phish cover (09/11/2000) – “Roadrunner,” before launching into a “Storage Jam” centered around Page’s Theremin the jam was insanely diverse and displayed Phish’s uncanny ability in 3.0 to jump from idea to idea without wasting time hooking up. Honoring the style that was discovered in the wee-hours of 07/02/2011, “Piper” concluded a month’s worth of jams that explored the dark side in ways the band simply couldn’t up until now. Fading into “Harry Hood,” Phish played their old reliable emotional peak of sets with a precision, and a drive that they hadn’t in years. Capping off the first part of the set, this “Hood” was the culmination of a journey that began with the first “Hood” with Trey’s Ocedoc back on 08/07/2010. Honoring the simple, building quality of the song, Trey played within the theme like it was 1995, waiting for just the right moment to return with the “You can feel good…” conclusion. “Roggae” followed which gave everyone a chance to step back and breath, before “Ghost” kicked off the final segment of the set. Shifting quickly into a major-keyed jam like so many “Ghost’s” have since 12/31/2010’s peaking gem, the jam built around a thunderous theme, hinting at something within the vast memory bank that is Phish, finally materializing into the second-ever live version of “Guy Forget.” Not played since 10/01/2000, the gimmicky tune about the tennis star, injected the jam with some serious humor, without compromising the musical integrity. Sandwiching the song in “Ghost,” Phish closed out the set with the 2.0 masterpiece, “Walls Of The Cave,” before encoring with the 3.0 anthem, “Backwards Down The Number Line.” The absolutely perfect song to close out the show, run, and tour with, “Number Line” signifies everything Phish in their current state is about: family, friends, and the overall joy of playing music. Closing out the meat of their 2011 touring season with an absolute barnburner, Phish showed how far they’ve come since their humble comeback weekend in Hampton, VA back in March 2009. While the rest of the year featured either no Phish, or less-than-amazing Phish, none of it matter, for 2011 will go down as one of the better years of Phish when all’s said and done. Constantly building since their return, one can only imagine where they’ll go from here once they kick off the 2012 tour.

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Thanks to Phish.Net (www.phish.net) and The Mockingbird Foundation (www.mbird.org) for organizational assistance and sourcing of setlists!